Take Me Away
by Kate417
Summary: Sam has been overseas for 5 months when Jules finds herself in a complicated situation that connects straight to him. Jam based, but Jules-centric. Whump. Lots. (Don't worry, also a lot of Jam). AU post 'Slow Burn'.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: So this is technically what would have been the next chapters to my other fic titled 'Save Tonight'. I ended up making this one a stand-alone because it turns out to be much much longer than I expected. While it's not strictly necessary for you guys to read the prequel to catch the drift, it may help set the plate._

 _Important premise if you haven't read 'Save Tonight': this is my take on what could have happened if Sam and Jules hadn't gotten the Chief's approval to stay on the same Team. Sam takes the job overseas his father offered. This one is set months after he's gone._

 _I apologize for what I'm about to put our favourite sexy sniper chick through but I'm a sucker for Jules whump and I haven't written one myself yet – and I'm in a terrible mood to give her hell right now._

 _Despite the whump, quite a lot of Jam, especially in the later chapters – and in the first ones as in Jules reflecting on it._

 _Side note: I know strictly nothing about the military. I made some research but I might have gotten a million things wrong. Please bear with me._

 _Alright you guys ready? Cause you're in for a bumpy ride!_

 _Reviews are love! (:  
_

* * *

Jules tentatively opened one of her eyes but the sudden light filling her vision forced her to shut them tight again, already too much to handle for her confused mind. She felt like she was having the worst hangover, the same pounding headache, the same dizziness and the same desire to go back to sleep. Except she wasn't in her bed.

Again, she attempted to open her eyes, this time forcing herself to adjust to the brightness of the room. She couldn't tell what time it was or even where she was. What she _did_ know was that the strain in her shoulders and her general discomfort told her something wasn't right.

She let out a long breath through her nose, trying to focus. Blinking a few times, she finally managed to get a first glimpse at her surroundings. It turned out the brightness wasn't that harsh after all, mostly dimmed and coming from the ceiling, shedding soft light in a rather large but nearly empty room with cement floors. The only other thing around her was a small folding table in the right corner, with what looked like a closed laptop on top of it. Unpainted drywall covered most of the walls but some of them were devoid of anything, leaving the beams naked, like an unfinished renovation.

Forcing her mind back to the last memory she had, it all came back to her. The bomb alert call, the team spreading out to clear the building, Spike going in the building with Babycakes, she and the witness in the command truck. And then, immense pain in her skull. She'd been knocked out from behind.

Breathing out again, this time more out of frustration, she tried moving only to find her arms were trapped above her and going nowhere. The sting around her wrists kicked in and she ventured a look up to see cuffs and chains were keeping her attached to a beam on the ceiling.

 _Shit_.

While she refused to let panic settle in, she couldn't help but to pull at her restraints with strength – at least as much as she could muster at the moment – as if willing them to be flawed and set her free. Her heartbeat picked up a notch and she had to remind herself to breathe slowly. Freaking out would do her no good. Looking down at herself, she noticed she had been stripped off her tact vest and everything remotely useful, leaving her with her usual black tee, her grey pants and combat boots.

Footsteps made her gaze snap back ahead of her. Her eyes now open and adjusted to the light, Jules recognized the witness' tall and bulky figure walking towards her, his short hair brushed back, his hands resting in his pockets so casually it irritated her. A sly smile on his scruffy face greeted her, much different than the nervous frown he had when they had gotten on scene and he had told them about the box with a ticking noise that he found in the office building. No doubt in her mind now that it had all been a ploy.

He simply stared right at her and didn't speak. She was the one to break the silence. "Fredrick, what are you doing?" Even to her, her voice didn't sound the same. It was tired and lazy, as if aligning two words was an effort in itself. She must have suffered a blow to the head more severe than she first thought. The man chuckled softly and started pacing around, hands still in his pocket. Jules closed her eyes for a moment as a thought crossed her mind. "Fredrick isn't your name, is it?" she asked, realisation that she'd been played from the start dawning on her.

"No, it's not." An amused tone laced his words as he stopped pacing and looked straight at her again, his smile still curling his lips upward. While his voice was the same as it had been in the command truck, it sounded much colder. "Dorian Flynn."

The fact that he was straight out giving her his full name didn't make her feel any better. Somehow, it meant he didn't mind her having that knowledge, which didn't give her any kind of hope that he'd let her out easily – or at all. "Well, _Dorian_ , care to tell me why I'm here?" Her voice was surprisingly calm and levelled. She might have been in a bad situation, she needed to remind herself he was now the subject and while she was the captive, she still needed to treat him as she would any other.

Flynn took a step forward so he was standing right in front of her and ran his index finger on her lips as if to shush her. She tried to move her head to the side to avoid his touch but with the same hand he grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him. Jules clenched her teeth and stared at him defiantly.

"Only thing you need to know is that _I_ will be asking the questions." On that note, he let go of her and spun around to pace again.

She didn't speak any further and waited for him to ask those said questions. She needed to cooperate, make him believe he was in control, which for the moment, he entirely was. The one thing Julianna Callaghan hated most was to be helpless and for her safety to rely on other people. Sure, among Team One they put their lives in each other's hands on a daily basis but at least it was _mutual_. Right now, her best shot at getting out of this was her team finding her, and she hated both not being with them and leaving them a man down to figure it all out. If only she'd read the signs, the lies and all the bullshit Flynn had told her back in the command truck, she wouldn't be in this situation.

The man stopped pacing to look at her and smiled again, obviously satisfied to see she understood she was not meant to talk unless she was asked. Oh how much Jules wanted to smack his cocky face. Getting impatient, she tried to adjust her position to soothe the strain on her shoulders and wrists, without satisfying results. He'd made them tight and unless she went on her tiptoes, she didn't have much loose to move around with, almost hanging from the ceiling by her arms.

Flynn looked up at the chains holding her for a quick moment as if enjoying their clinking sound, the telltale sign that she was efficiently restrained. When his eyes settled on her again he was more serious, ready to get down to business. "You're gonna tell me where Sam Braddock is."

* * *

"What do you mean, 'she's gone'?"

Ed's voice in the comm was rough, as if challenging their Sergeant on this piece of information he'd just given.

Greg gazed around inside of the command truck, hands on his hips, his lips creating only a thin line that betrayed his emotions. His gut was screaming at him that they'd just been played, and he hated it. "Vest, weapons, communicator, phone. It's all here, Eddie. Jules… She's gone. He took her."

There was silence in the comms for a few seconds, like the whole team froze and waited for him to carry on. But Ed was the one to break the silence. "How can you be sure?" While none of them wanted it to be, if it was true, they needed to start moving fast.

"Blood on the edge of the chair. Keyboard flew to the ground and broke. Looks like she might have been hit from behind unexpectedly." Greg took his cap off and rubbed his head with his other hand before putting it back on. "Spike I need you in here right now."

"On my way boss."

They'd been called on scene for a bomb threat. A witness had seen someone leave a cardboard box by the elevators of an office building in the financial district downtown. The local unis had started evacuating the building but it turned out there were a lot more people in there for them alone to handle. When Team One had gotten there, Spike and Raf had made it straight to the package with Babycakes while Greg, Ed and Leah had helped clear the building and the perimeter, also searching for whoever might have looked out of place, who could have planted that box and was looking at his work from the outside.

Jules had been with the witness in the command truck, trying to get more information out of him, see if he'd seen anything else out of place, if he noticed someone in particular leave the scene, something unusual. Little did they know at the time that he had put it there himself.

The bomb didn't turn out a big one, and it hadn't been too hard to diffuse. No timer, no trigger point. Spike had done it rather easily, in fact far too easily. It had been obvious to the team at that moment that the bomb had only meant to be a scare. Or a distraction…

As Spike moved into the command truck, he paused as he looked around at the scene. To the untrained eye, nothing would seem much out of place. For him who spent a lot of time in this truck, he could see something was awfully wrong.

Greg regarded him as he walked in. "Get me everything you can on that witness. Search his name, check the cameras, run facial recognition... Anything you can get."

Spike simply nodded and took his place on the chair next to the one Jules had been forced to vacate… how long ago? The team had been clearing the building of people and in there for a while to diffuse that bomb. Why hadn't they realized Jules wasn't with them in their ears anymore? With the thickness of the crowd in the area, taking her out probably hadn't been too hard. Especially out of most of her gear, she probably just looked like a woman who had fainted if he carried her in his arms.

Suddenly, Spike felt anger rising inside of him. While he knew Jules could take care of herself as well if not better than all men in this team, the idea of her being manhandled and taken against her will bothered him a lot more than he would let on.

Before Sam had left, he had made Spike promise that he would keep an eye on Jules for him, of course without her ever knowing about it. It wasn't that Sam didn't trust her to be careful and stay safe, he knew her well enough to know that she could deal with pretty much anything. But that was exactly the point. _He knew her_. Meaning he knew the lengths of what she could do to put her life on the line for others, put up a wall and act strong to hide her deeper emotions and worries. Sam had learned over the years, and especially in the last, to see right through it and with a single gaze, could tell everything that was going on in her mind. With that, he managed to support her, even in the littlest things, when the job got tough or when something got to her. But now that he was away, he had felt the need to pass that job onto someone else because he couldn't do it himself anymore.

And now the demolition expert felt like he had failed his friend. Both of his friends.

"Spike?" Greg questioned at the younger man's hesitation, looking at him sideways.

"On it boss," he replied and pushed those thoughts away to start typing on his keyboard, looking for the answers that would help them find Jules. Where he had failed to protect her before, he could now do the next best thing and find the piece of intel they needed to get her back safely.

It took only a second for him to search the witness' name and when the few 'Fredrick Miller' faces from the Toronto area came up on the screen, none of them looked remotely like the witness Jules had been with. "Gave us a fake name," Spike announced, unsurprised. If this had been a ploy to abduct one of their own all along, giving himself a fake identity would be the easy thing to slow down their search. "I'll get started on facial recognition," he then announced as he scanned the cameras for the best possible image of him. His voice was trying to sound detached but to anyone who knew him, they would sense an edge to it that betrayed his worry.

"Let me know as soon as you get something," Greg instructed, even though it went without saying. On that note, the Sergeant moved out of the command truck to let Spike work and closed the door behind him just as Ed joined his side.

"What do you think?" the Team Leader questioned.

Greg took a long breath and shook his head slightly, trying to think objectively about this and act as if it was just another job. "Could be against the SRU, the man could have taken any of us in that case. Or maybe she discovered something about him that she shouldn't have." However, it seemed like that option was the least plausible. She wouldn't have turned her comm off and such information would have been on the transcript.

Both men looked at each other for a moment, as if neither wanted to voice the option that this might have been personal, that the whole bomb threat had merely been a way to get _her._ While none of them specifically knew about anyone who would hold a grudge against Jules, they were well aware that it only took a spark to ignite wrath in certain individuals. As law enforcement officers, they'd pissed off more people than they could ever count, the list of possible cases which could have started all this was endless. It wouldn't be the first time family members of subjects they either arrested or were forced to kill were out to get one of them.

"Maybe he needs her to get to someone else," Greg voiced unwillingly, hoping with all his might that he was wrong.

Ed seemed to catch his drift. "You think it might have something to do with Sam." It was a statement more than a question.

"I don't know, Eddie. But it's a possibility we can't overlook. We'll know more when we get his name."

On cue, Spike's voice came through their earpieces. "Boss, I checked the cameras around the truck but none of them are in position to show the door. He took Jules through a blind spot. I have an ID from an earlier camera recording, though. Dorian Flynn. 38. He was in the military until earlier this year. Specials Operations Regiment. Took a retirement package because he'd been on the forces for 20 years."

Greg and Ed shared a look as if suddenly their last hypothesis made all the more sense. "Go on, Spike," the Sergeant pushed. They needed all the information they could get.

"There isn't much else. No criminal record, noting of note during his tours. I have no phone number on file, but I got his address."

"Alright team, let's move!" Ed urged as he darted for one of the SUVs himself, initiating the motion. "Spike, I need you with us." They were a man down and they didn't know what they would end up finding there. Besides, Winnie was there to back them up with intel for anything he couldn't do on the way there. "Raf, Leah," Ed added.

A series of 'copy that's were exchanged in the comms as the entire team converged towards the SUVs. Spike made sure to send the address to all of their PDAs before moving out of the truck and running to one of the vehicles, laptop in hand. He was about to open the back door to take place with Greg and Ed when his hands full caused him to drop his own PDA. Cursing under his breath as it bounced just under the SUV, he crouched down to pick it up, hoping it wasn't broken. He had to put most of what he held on the ground and actually look under the vehicle to finally see the device. Reaching out for it, however, something else caught his attention. His face dropped.

"Guys, hold on."


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: I feel like some of you might say 'don't you think Jules has been through enough in the series already?'. And my answer would be 'no?'._

 _So she's been shot, she's bled to death in a room full of anthrax and she's been held hostage. But I mean, technically, out of the 5 members who were there for the entire 5 seasons, she's the only one who hasn't been kidnapped and/or directly mistreated for personal reasons. Soooo, figured it was her turn. And I won't lie, I need more Jules whump in my life._

 _For those of you waiting patiently for a full on Jam scene, I promise you one on the next chapter._

 _Otherwise, thanks to all who reviewed, favorited and followed this story! You have no idea how happy I am to read what you guys think and to know you want to read more. I hope this doesn't disappoint. R &R and most importantly, enjoy!_

* * *

As the man spoke Sam's name, it was as if something hit Jules right in the stomach with contusive force as a load of different emotions ran through her.

The first one being love for the man mentioned. It had been five months since he had left to go work overseas, a position his father had gotten him. A position he had not wanted to take but had been left with little to no choice as the SRU Chief decided to force he and Jules to chose which of them was to leave the team, despite Dr. Toth's personal appeal. Those five months had been the longest of her life. Now that she had finally given in the desire to be with Sam, she could barely live without him. At least when she had broken things off the first time around, they would still see each other on a daily basis. Weekly Skype sessions weren't remotely close to being the same. She missed him more than she would ever admit, if asked. She had never relied on anyone before and she had tried hard to convince herself that it was still the case. But she needed Sam, his cockiness, his charms, his warmth, his kind words, every ounce of him.

Then, worry settled in. Worry for what he as doing, wondering if he was okay. While she had no doubts he worried just as much about her as she did about him, the thought of something happening to him was killing her inside every single day, until the moment she'd get a quick text from him wishing her good night.

Finally, Jules felt anger towards the man holding her captive for bringing Sam up at all. She narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering how he knew they were connected in some way. Somehow, she doubted picking _her_ out of the entire Team was purely coincidental. Why was he looking for Sam and going through all this trouble to know of his whereabouts? It boded badly for whatever was to come out of this.

"You're wasting your time, he's overseas." It pained her just to say it but it angered her even more to think that she might be tied to a ceiling for no valid reason.

Flynn closed the distance between them again, edging dangerously close to her. If she could have, she would have taken a step back to keep him from invading her personal space. He grabbed the chain right above her cuffed hands and pulled on it, forcing her body to jerk towards him. "I know that." His voice was lower and there was a dark intensity to it, daring her to be a smartass with him. "What I need to know is where exactly his operation is underway."

Jules regarded him for a moment, not that she had much choice since at this point his face was inches close to hers. Sam had gone back to the Special Forces as a Sergeant for JTF 2, meaning most of his operations were highly classified. The less information that was given – even to family members – the best chances of their anti-terrorism missions to succeed without being compromised. It was obvious Flynn knew Sam was back with his old unit, meaning there was no point in trying to hide it from him.

"That's classified information. How would I know that?" Even though she knew of some of his whereabouts and at least, the country in which he was stationed, she knew better than to ask him for any more details. He wouldn't keep anything from her if she asked, Sam had all the faith in the world in her but she had never really been curious to know. In fact, the less she knew the better, else she would worry for every second of every day.

"I think you're the only person who knows that, actually," Flynn retorted as he let go of the chain he'd been holding, sending Jules swinging backwards slightly. However, he remained in the very same spot, observing her.

"I don't know where he is," she repeated, pressing on every single word as she said them. "And even if I knew, what makes you think I would tell you anything?"

Flynn's hand left his side and he backhanded her hard before she could even ready herself for it. The flesh hitting flesh sound echoed in the room as her head jerked to the side under the impact, leaving an intense sting on her skin, pain in her jaw and a bleeding graze on cheekbone where one of his rings had cut her under the impact. She didn't straighten her face for a moment, taking an extra second to compose herself. This made her realize she was starting to antagonize her subject. She needed to stay in control while making him believe that he was. Not piss him off with her smart mouth.

What she needed to do right now was to buy time and hope that the team would find her soon. She finally looked towards him again, her eyes flaring with anger but her voice calm and composed. "Why do you want to know?"

The man's lips curled into a smirk again, the same he had when he first entered the room. "Let's just say I have my reasons to want to see this mission fail." His voice was calm, as if he'd already forgotten about the violence he just had towards her. "I don't need you to tell me about the mission itself. I know of what they're doing, what I don't know is where it's underway. That's all I need."

There was not a chance she would tell him anything, especially not after hearing that piece of information. Not only would it compromise Sam's safety, but it could compromise the entire operation. Sam had trusted her with the little bit of information he'd given, she wasn't going to betray him, even if it meant living through this man's wrath. "How do you know he's even involved in the mission you're talking about?" She was trying to stall, to make him talk. Hopefully she'd see an opening and try to negotiate her way out of it, somehow.

But her hopes for an opening died when he narrowed his eyes at her, suddenly looking a lot more threatening. "I thought I told you I was asking the questions, here."

Jules knew she was on a slippery slope and needed to be careful, especially since she planned on telling him nothing. Stalling could only go so far, she needed to keep him talking. "I just think I deserve to know the real reason you're keeping me here."

The man scoffed even before her last word was spoken. He folded his arm over his chest and started pacing in front of her again. "Deserve?" he repeated, almost amused by her word of choice. "You don't _deserve_ anything, lady. In case you haven't noticed, you're not going anywhere," he said, pointing a finger at the chains that restrained her and made her his prisoner. "So you better start talking."

A long frustrated sigh came out of Jules' nose as her gaze followed his pacing. "I told you, I don't know."

Flynn stopped to look at her. For a moment, she almost thought he believed her and that he was going to stop asking. Although she wasn't convinced it was a good thing considering when the moment came that he didn't need her anymore, she'd become expandable.

But he wasn't done with her yet.

He closed the distance that separated them and threw a strong jab right at her chest. Jules reflexively let out a short yell as pain exploded in her body, forcing the air out of her lungs. She started coughing when her body responded again, almost as a defense mechanism from the sudden blow that caused her to momentarily stop breathing.

The man grabbed her by the chin once again, a little rougher this time, and leaned in so his face was right in hers. She tried to pull her head back and out of his grip which only resulted in him digging his fingers into her skin and forcing her to look up at him. Again, she stared into his eyes with a strong glare, this time pain was added to the anger.

"You know _something_. Where he took the plane to, where his call to report for duty was. Didn't he tell you about the language that was spoken, the city he was stationed in, the kind of people he was working with?"

"How do you assume he would tell me all these things?" she asked desperate to stall him again. She would be working on getting her own ass out of this situation if she possibly could but unfortunately, now she needed to either talk him down or rely on her team. Unfortunately, something told her the latter was the most plausible option.

This time is was Flynn's turn to narrow his eyes at her. "You think I don't know about the two of you? I think he wouldn't trust anyone else but his SRU girlfriend with that kind of information, and I think he would give her some details to make them both feel better about being so far away for so long."

Jules clenched her jaw. How this guy knew so much about them both was beyond her. While the team had been fully aware of it in the last few weeks before Sam's resignation, it wasn't common knowledge that she and him were a couple. They'd kept it hidden for the most part, didn't have any joint bank account or common belongings. If this guy knew of their involvement, he either had great sources or knew Sam on a more personal level, somehow. Either way, he had no rights to assume anything about their relationship. It belonged to them alone. She felt her anger rising, her blood boiled with rage towards the man standing in front of her.

Faced with her silence, he continued, a sneer replacing the frown he had a moment before. "I'm sure the mighty SRU wasn't pleased when they found out you were shacking up, were they?"

If he had been planning on hitting a nerve, he got it right on target. Her cuffed hands turned into fists and she pulled on her bonds in annoyance, only causing the strain on his wrists to worsen but it was the least of her worries. How he knew exactly what to say to piss her off was making her want to jump in his face.

She would never blame Sam for anything bad that happened to her but none of this would have even happened if the Chief had decided to let them remain on the same team.

But what got to her the most was that it meant Sam was gone. And if romantic relationships had never been her strong suit, she realized that long distance ones were even harder but for the opposite reason she'd expected. She had never _needed_ anyone before as much as she needed Sam and now that he was gone, she felt empty, like part of her was missing. She had tried putting all of her energies in her job, training harder, longer, stronger. But nothing could keep her mind away from Sam long enough to make her feel perfectly well. Somehow, she had a feeling that Flynn knew all about that, too.

"What do you want me to say?" Jules asked rhetorically after a few seconds, her voice leveled despite her inner feelings. "That I'm happy with how things turned out?"

Flynn regarded her silently for a moment as he still held on her chin, staring straight into her eyes like a predator looking for a flaw in his prey. She held his stare, not even blinking, unwilling to show any sign of weakness. "You know what I want you to say," he broke the silence after a moment, finally letting go of her face and taking a few steps away from her.

Well, she'd stalled him for a good… 30 seconds. 30 seconds which only resulted in rising her resentment towards him. Nothing to help her get the hell out of there. "I'll tell you again, I don't-"

"Think!" His strong voice cut her off, nearly screaming as he turned to look in her direction, pointing an accusing finger at her. Again, he took two steps until he was right in front of her and brought the tip of that same finger against her forehead, drumming on it to punctuate his words. "Dig in that memory of yours and tell me what you know!"

Jules shut her eyes, frowning in aversion as his finger repeatedly prodded her. She could have broken that finger with one simple move if she'd had her hands free. Seeing as her strategy wasn't working, she changed it slightly. "Whatever you think I know doesn't matter. I still wouldn't tell you shit."

"Wrong answer."

Before she could brace herself, he pumped his fist and sent another blow right at her stomach. Her body folded inwards as she grunted in pain, letting her head fall forward to compose herself. She took a few breaths, wincing as the sole motion of inhaling caused her sore body to complain. It seemed like Flynn was giving her a moment to think it through because he didn't say anything else and simply looked at her. She slowly raised her gaze towards him, still catching her breath. "Did you ever stop and think that hurting me may not be your best tactic to get me to cooperate?"

"Maybe not, but at least it shuts your cocky mouth for a moment."

She wanted to argue that between them, she wasn't the cocky one but she refrained, both because she could go without receiving another blow and because she had to remind herself not to antagonize him, no matter how much she wanted to express with very un-lady-like manners exactly how she felt about him. She had already crossed a line, she had let herself be affected by his words and she had spoken on impulse and out of anger rather than rationally.

There was a short silence between them once again as they simply stared into each other's eyes, waiting to see which of them would give in first. Flynn raised a brow after a moment and Jules wondered if he had actually expected her to give him the answer he sought. Well, at least he didn't know _that much_ about her. There was no way she would sell Sam of all people, no matter the impact on her own safety. The love she had for the man was stronger than her desire to live. It had been unsettling when she realized it at first, having never loved someone so strongly, but the simple idea of him being in any kind of danger was driving her mad. And she had no doubt that if he had any clue on what she was going through right now, he would take the next plane back to Toronto and move mountains to get her out. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing for him to be so far away and oblivious, she could go without him making irrational decision. But she dreaded the moment he'd find out – no matter the final outcome.

"Well then," Flynn broke the silence as he moved away from her and over to the folding table in the corner of the room. He flipped open the laptop and hit a few keys until a map appeared on screen.

Jules' eyes watched everything he was doing carefully, from the actions themselves to the way he moved, the way he held himself, looking for a flaw, an opening she could use to bring him down if she ever got her hands out of those cuffs. Almost as if to prove her point to herself, she tried pulling them free again only to find they were still not going anywhere.

Flynn hit another key and white dots appeared on the map, dots she recognized as identifying members of her team. From what she could see from a distance, they were still on scene, although not in the building anymore. How long had she been out cold? How far had he taken her? Looking at the dots, she almost willed them to start moving, to come looking for her. How were they not on her trail already? Had Flynn been this good to cover all his tracks?

Her thought-process was interrupted when the man took his phone out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. "If you don't care for your own well-being, that's one thing. But I'm curious about how you'll feel about theirs."

He didn't even need to point to the screen for her to know exactly who he was referring to. She let him carry on, afraid to ask but knowing where this was heading, and hating all of it.

As if picking up on that, Flynn's lips curled into a smirk. "You're really going to make me say it, are you?" When he was met with silence again, he sniggered, taking a few steps towards her. "This," he started, pointing at the phone with his free hand, still holding it up for her to see, "triggers bombs that have been carefully placed under your Team's SUVs. While I can't tell who is who on that screen," he said, referring to the white dots, "I'm guessing it doesn't really matter, now. Does it?"

Jules' heart flipped in her chest. As soon as she had seen the phone, she had figured and feared what it could be about. She knew what was expected of her; _that_ she wasn't going to make him say. Yet, all she could think about was to keep delaying the inevitable. Seeing them there meant they weren't close to finding her, but mostly, it meant that Flynn would know as soon as they did – _if_ they did.

"You're bluffing." It was all she could manage to say, to think of to stall even for a few seconds, or at least engage in a discussion and try to decipher if he was lying, from his body language and his facial expression.

"Am I?"


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Sorry for the longer delay in getting this chapter out. Been working odd hours and my brain couldn't concentrate on finishing this chapter._

 _As promised, Jam scene in there! Although maybe not what some of you had expected._

 _Again, your reviews fill me with happiness. Always love to hear what you think!_

* * *

"Guys get out of the SUVs now! Clear the area!"

"Spike?" Greg's voice questioned as he got out of the vehicle, knowing better than to argue when his demolition expert's voice was so urgent.

Before answering, Spike rushed over to the second SUV Raf and Leah were vacating and crouched to look underneath like he had just done with the first. He repeated the process with the third that was parked a little further away and cursed under his breath. "Boss, all three SUVs have bombs strapped to them. Can't see any clock or trigger point from here but you need to evacuate the area right now." On that note, he got to his feet again, glad to see his words hadn't fallen on deaf ears as the whole team was already yelling at people to back away, making the perimeter more secure for him to work freely. Spike made it to the command truck and checked underneath it as well only to find it was clear. He walked around it to make sure whoever put the other two bombs hadn't placed it in a different spot, even looking inside in all possible corners.

Coming back out, he went straight to grab the bomb gear he had just used inside the building. "Truck is clear," he announced for his Team's sake.

Seeing as the area was being contained, Greg made it to the truck. "Raf, I need this thing moved so we can keep working." It was unlikely that their subject was acting solo, he couldn't possibly manage to plant those bombs and take Jules from right under their noses in so little time. There was no doubt in Greg's mind that he hadn't been operating alone. He clenched his jaw and rubbed his face to try and wash his agitation off. Not only could they have been targets themselves but this was critically slowing down their search for their missing officer. "Eddie, take a cruiser with Leah and go to the subject's home. We can't let this slow us down," he voiced, the concern obvious in his usually composed voice.

The Team Leader didn't need to be told twice. He made sure the unis on scene were taking care of the now secure perimeter before he and Leah borrowed a police cruiser, quickly packing a few things they might need. Within a minute, they were pulling away from the scene and onto the streets.

The Sergeant hated to split up his team like this when they didn't know what they were up against, but he was left with little choice right now. The fact that Flynn had not tried to contact them or made any demands made Greg uneasy, it meant he probably didn't need anything from _them_ in exchange for Jules.

Once the truck was in a safer area, Greg joined Raf inside. Instead of sitting next to him, however, he remained on his feet, as if it would help him keep his mind sharp to find answers. "Check the nearby cameras. We need to see who's working with him."

"Copy," Raf simply said and started his task without another uttered word.

"Boss," Spike's voice came in the comms after a short moment.

"Go ahead, Spike," Greg instructed, pacing inside the truck.

Outside, the tech-savvy officer had jacked up the first SUV to allow him access underneath it. He was laying down, flashlight in hand and scrutinizing the device just above him. "There's no contact trigger, no clock either. It can only be activated by a remote or a cell phone signal. Now I'm guessing if they had a remote and wanted us dead, they would have blown this off when we started securing the perimeter and we were still in range."

Meaning this was either a distraction, or maybe some kind of incentive or bargain chip? Still, Greg took no chance and moved out of the truck to go do a once over of the crowd, trying to identify if someone was waiting for the right moment to detonate the bombs. "How long until they're all disabled?"

"First one might be trickier, mostly because I need to follow the wiring and figure out which one is the kill switch, given the tight space I have to work with. Once the first is done, the others should be a piece of cake."

"How long, Spike?" Greg pressed.

Spike pursed his lips for a moment, his eyes already trying to figure this device out. He hated giving approximate time frames because he didn't want to be blamed if he didn't meet the expectations. However, he knew time was of the essence and he needed to get this done fast. "It's more complex than the one inside the building. But if I had to guess I would say about a half-hour for all three, maybe less."

"Do it," Greg commanded as he walked among the crowd, watching people carefully, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary – at least out of the ordinary in a case like this. A half-hour meant Flynn had another thirty minutes ahead of them. He knew there was no choice but to disarm the bombs, he just had to hope Ed and Leah would find some extra clues as to where Jules could be.

* * *

"So, what's it gonna be?"

Jules eyes probably betrayed her inner dilemma, the intense frown creasing her forehead in worry. She looked from the phone and back to Flynn, puzzled, as if repeatedly inspecting it would give her the answer. There _was_ an answer, two of them actually, but she wanted neither of the options she was faced with.

On one side, there was Sam's future safety. If this man went through such lengths only to get his location, she doubted that his plans were only to pay him a visit. Either he would screw up their entire mission and put Sam and his whole team's well being in jeopardy, or he was out to get him personally. Either way, she couldn't let it happen.

Then on the other side, her Team was in immediate danger. While she had no idea if Flynn had actually planted bombs or if he was simply messing with her, she couldn't take the chance of her team – her friends – being blown up. If she wouldn't be surprised to learn the man had been bluffing all along, the opposite was also true and she wouldn't be surprised if he actually _did_ plant the bombs. He'd already planted one in the building to trick them after all.

Flynn's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her, his expression getting darker and more menacing. Seeing his thumb move to the button of his phone as if ready to press it, Jules took a quick breath. "Alright wait," she breathed out in defeat, closing her eyes for a moment, hating what she was about to do.

The man lowered his hand holding the phone but kept it close, probably in case he didn't like her answer. The sly smirk that had graced his lips earlier was back on his face and had only grown bigger, much to Jules' discontent.

One of the reasons why this decision felt like the right one to make was because she trusted her team. She trusted them to find her and then to stop Flynn and whoever he would relay the information to that was out to put an end to Sam's mission, and possibly be life-threatening to him and his team. Until then, she needed to keep stalling as much as she could.

She sighed in frustration and looked away from the man standing in front of her, not wanting to see his satisfied cocky smirk as she was about to give him exactly what he wanted. Or part of it, at least. "He flew in to Mosul five months ago. But they moved to another base last month. That's all I know."

"When, exactly?"

Jules' eyes moved back to him and she held his stare. She unwillingly dug in her memory, trying to recall when they have had that particular conversation.

 _"_ _Hi."_

 _Seeing him and hearing that simple word alone was enough for Jules' face to brighten and a smile broadened on her feature. However, to anyone who knew her well enough, they could see her smile had a hint of sadness. While these online sessions with Sam were the one thing she would look forward to the most, he still wasn't here with her. She couldn't touch him, take in his scent, feel his strong arms around her, trap his lips with hers, kiss him in all the right places._

 _"_ _Hey," she breathed out with relief like she usually did when she'd see him on screen, unarmed and safe. It killed her to know he was in hostile territory and while she trusted he and his team were not only trained but the best out there, deadly incidents could still occur. Whenever she saw him was the confirmation that he was fine. Her body relaxed and she brought her right elbow on the kitchen table where she'd put the laptop, leaning her chin in her hand as if day dreaming about the moment they'd be together again. "How are you?" It wasn't a mundane small-talk question, as much as it sounded like it. She was genuinely worried and asking him how he was doing, how he was holding up, how his mission was. All in one simple question._

 _Sam shrugged, the jerking image of the screen showed her that much. "I'm alright. Things are moving fast here." He paused and forced a smile on his face. "Not nearly fast enough to bring me back next to you, though."_

 _Much like Sam just had, Jules forced a smile as well, the idea of him being away for still another while was eating her from the inside. "Unfortunately," she responded, voicing both their thoughts._

 _"_ _You?" he asked, returning the question to her._

 _She took a breath and let it out slowly. "I'm alright. Things are moving fast here," she responded, using the same words he just had, a smile creeping up on her face at her own figure of speech. Sam let out a small heartfelt laugh and that alone warmed her heart._

 _"_ _The team?" he questioned, knowing he didn't need to elaborate for her to catch his drift._

 _Jules nodded a few times, trying to see if there was something new about either of them she had yet to tell him. "They're all good. Sophie came by with Isabelle a few days ago. You should see how much she's grown."_

 _On that note they both fell silent for a moment and Jules looked down slightly. She wasn't sure if they were thinking the same thing but her mind drifted off to Ed's family and how – even filled with bumpy patches – having his children and his wife grounded him. Would she and Sam ever get something similar? Would they even get a child of their own? Would they ever get somewhat of a normal life together?_

 _"_ _I feel like I'm missing out so much," Sam's voice broke the silence and Jules stared at his eyes even though she couldn't see right into them since he was looking at her on the screen, and not at the camera. She missed their long eye contact, just looking straight into each other's soul through their passion-filled eyes._

 _"_ _It's only for a little while, Sam." If she was trying to make him feel better about it, she should have started by trying to convince herself. Her voice was filled with sadness even though she tried her best to be positive._

 _Sam scoffed humourlessly and looked away from the screen for a second. "Yeah." He didn't look any more convinced than she was._

 _Jules saw him run his finger through his short blonde hair, knowing too well it was a sign of frustration on his part. She pursed her lips and ventured her next question. "Do you know how long?"_

 _He bit the inside of his mouth as he thought for a second. While she knew it all depended on the current mission and how well it went, time couldn't pass nearly fast enough until he was on his flight back to Toronto. They'd been talking about months overseas, not years. It had only been four so far, she wondered how many left they would be forced apart, even though she wasn't sure she was going to like the answer. Sam breathed out with a soft shake of the head, letting his hand drop on his combat trouser with a slap. "I don't know. 5 or 6 more months from what I gather. Hopefully less." He didn't say it, but she knew he was also hoping it wasn't going to be more than that, even though it was a possibility._

 _Jules nodded, as if showing she was fine with that information while in fact, she was nothing but. There was more time left than the amount they had already been apart. She selfishly regretted letting him go through with that idea and take the position his father had offered. Well, she hadn't really had a choice as Sam had resigned from the SRU behind her back because she wouldn't let him do it otherwise. She should have let him keep his position with Team One and get herself reassigned somewhere else, to another Team. It would have pained her, but not as much as this did now._

 _She shouldn't be complaining, however. She still had her job, her friends she'd see everyday. Sam had gotten the worse of it all. He didn't have the job, he didn't have the friends and on top of that, he didn't have the girl._

 _She broke the silence and they started into lighter conversations, for a little while talking like they would around a nice dinner. He made her smile, she made him laugh. For a moment, Jules almost forgot they were thousands of miles apart._

 _Eventually, she heard his name being called by someone on his side and Sam looked in that particular direction, holding a finger up to tell him he'd be another minute. When his eyes moved back to the screen, his frown was nearly pleading for her forgiveness because he was forced to cut this short._

 _"_ _It's alright," she assured him before he could say anything. It was late evening for her and early morning for him, his day was just getting started and if she wanted him to be back sooner rather than later, she needed to let him do his thing._

 _"_ _No Jules, it's not," he started and his lips turned into a fine line. He took a long breath, his shoulders rising and then going back down as he exhaled. "We're moving tonight. Changing bases."_

 _"_ _Why?" The question escaped her lips before she could even think about it. Realizing her mistake, she shook her head slightly. "Sorry, I know you can't say," she corrected herself._

 _Sam didn't call her out on it. "Things have been moving in the past few days. We've had new intel about possible threats that we need to take seriously." Jules' heart skipped a beat at the idea that he might be faced with eminent dangers but she didn't say anything. Sam carried on. "We'll be out of range until we're properly settled. I'll let you know as soon as I get a chance, might only be a few days but it could take a week."_

 _He didn't even bother asking her not to worry, she would anyway. Knowing there was nothing she could do about it, she nodded slowly. "Okay."_

 _"_ _I wish we had more time to talk today," he said as they were both staring at their respective screen. A pause and then added an afterthought. "You're so beautiful. Even pixelated."_

 _Jules snorted, an amused smile showing on her lips and Sam's expression soon matched hers. It helped lighten the mood and they just smiled at each other for a moment. "I miss you so much," Jules admitted._

 _"_ _Me too," the response came almost immediately. "I love you, Jules."_

 _"_ _I love you too. Be safe."_

 _Sam smiled at her again, in the way that would always make her melt, the left corner of his lips curling a little higher than the right, his boyish look and his blue eyes showing all the love he had for her. "I promise." She didn't want to end the call but when he closed the laptop's lid, the connexion was lost and she had to resort herself to doing the same._

 _She leaned back in her chair and looked up to the ceiling in order to roll back the tears that threatened to escape. One of them did and she quickly wiped it off with her hand. It was like slow torture, seeing him on screen without being able to feel him close was killing her. But she couldn't help but to try and talk to him as often as possible, those few minutes they shared as well as the daily text messages were the only things making her hold on for so long._

 _Now, she would have to deal with having no contact with him for days, all this time worrying about his safety and his wellbeing. She glanced down at her phone on the table close by, knowing this would be the first of many looks she would give it in the upcoming week, each time hoping it would light up with a loving message._

"On the 17th," Jules recalled.

"Are you sure?" Flynn questioned, his face stoic. It made Jules wonder just how helpful whatever she was saying was, or even if it was anywhere near what he wanted to hear.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes I'm sure," she nearly snapped at him. If he was going to trust she gave him the right information from the start, he needed to stop second-guessing her answers.

The man's face then brightened and a dark smile curled his lips upward. But there was nothing sweet about it. "See? Wasn't that hard, was it?"

If looks could kill…

Jules shot him a glare, her entire body itching to kick his ass to the ground and smack that smile off his face. She wanted to argue that kidnapping her, planting bombs on her team's SUVs and threatening to kill them hadn't made it 'not that hard' as he put it but she kept her mouth shut this once. Now that she had cooperated, she needed to take a shot at talking him down again and contradicting him wasn't the best way to go. "So now that I told you what you wanted to hear, Dorian, how about you do something for me in return and get these chains off?" she proposed, looking at her arms still stuck above her to make sure he knew which chains she was referring to. She wiggled her fingers slightly, trying to keep the blood flowing as they were getting numb from their strained position.

A sombre laugh met her words. "Oh darling, we're just getting started."

She shuddered, both from his choice of word and because of what this could mean for her. She hadn't expected him to let her run free so easily – or at all considering he had showed his face and given her his full name – but to keep her in this position purposefully while they were, as he mentioned, 'just getting started' made her realize she was about to get more than what she bargained for. "What do you mean?" she asked, hoping he would elaborate and prove her gut feeling wrong. She shifted uncomfortably, as much as her position would allow her to, once again trying find a flaw in her binding but only resulting in the chains clinking against one another. "There's nothing else I can help you with."

Flynn didn't miss her discomfort as his eyes shifted up to the tight cuffs around her wrists, making sure they would hold, and then back to her face. Keeping his gaze on her, he started pacing around her petite figure as if circling around his prey. Jules' head followed his motion as much as she could, until she couldn't see him anymore when he was completely behind her. When he reappeared on the other side of her, he grazed her bare arm with his long fingers, tracing a line around it and down to her shoulder, then up her neck and to her cheek as he stopped pacing once he was right in front of her. She flinched, trying to edge away from his touch. "There's actually plenty," he finally responded, his voice almost a whisper now that he stood right in front of her. Along with his fingers brushing her cheek, he brought his thumb up to cup her chin again – although it was hardly a sweet touch. "You're SRU, right?" he continued and even though the question was rhetorical, she couldn't help but to stare right into his eyes with a hateful glare. Of course he knew she was, that was where he had snatched her from in the first place. "He surely mentioned weapons, tactics of some sort."

"We don't talk about that kind of stuff," she answered, pressing on every single word, like a mad parent would after repeating the same thing three times to their child. And really, it felt like she kept arguing that she didn't know anything and yet, he kept on pushing. She couldn't tell what he was expecting to get out of her – aside from the little details she had already given him. Hadn't it been enough? Hadn't he caused enough damage already?

"What do you talk about, then?" he asked as he let go of her face and took a step back, folding his arms over his chest, staring at her in a manner that both said he didn't believe that and in confusion as to why they wouldn't discuss those things. "And please don't say lovey-dovey stuff cause I might vomit."

How badly she wanted to tell him he could go fuck himself. It was already hard enough to be away from Sam for so long, and Flynn was making it sound like they were teenage lovers that couldn't stand to be apart for a day. Knowing the man you loved was in a war zone, risking his life for the country's safety, for other people, it wasn't just a teen fling. So of course there was some 'lovey-dovey' stuff, as he put it, because their love towards one another was all they had to hold on to.

Ignoring the last part and keeping herself from having a go at him with all of her might, she answered with the next best thing. The truth. "You really think we discuss this when JTF2 specifically asks them to keep family knowledge to a minimum?" As soon as she spoke them, she reflected on her own words. Was she really Sam's _family_? She liked the sound of it, that was for sure, but with their particular relationship, them sneaking around on the team until they were discovered and forced apart, she wasn't sure she fitted the actual description. "Sam is professional, he won't divulge information that could compromise his mission, no matter my training, no matter how much I could understand what he's going through."

"Maybe not purposefully," Flynn argued. "Maybe even without you realizing it." He paused, letting her fill the blanks and give him some information.

She didn't speak.

"Fine," he said sharply, unfolding his arms and digging into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Shall I refresh your memory, then?" he asked, holding it up for her to see, his thumb on the button that threatened to set off the bombs on her team.

"Dorian you need to stop this right now." Jules' voice was composed despite his threat being urgent. She'd switched into full negotiation mode. "I told you I didn't know anything. I can't help you. Detonating those bombs will do nothing good."

Flynn narrowed his eyes at her. Somehow, she had the feeling he didn't like her being so calm, as if he wanted her to go hysterical and get some sort of kick out of it. "Last chance," he simply added, ignoring her words entirely.

"I can't help you!" Jules tried to reason again, impatience lacing her words, that negotiator façade dropping at once. "Please don't push that button. They have nothing to do with this!" If her voice had been levelled seconds before, now it was more urgent, pleading even, as she realized there seemed to be no negotiating with him, no way to make his see reason and that her team's safety was compromised.

"Too late." He looked behind him at the laptop screen. Three white dots were representing members of Team One, all gathered on scene near where the vehicles were parked.

"No!" Jules yelled, pulling on her binds, trying to stop what he was about to do. He looked back at her, his now typical smirk returning on his lips slowly. "DON'T!"

Her final imploration came at the exact moment Flynn pressed the button on his phone.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: This was definitely my favourite chapter to write so far so I really hope it comes through nicely. Let me know what you guys think!_

 _Again, I need to thank all of you who reviewed and followed this story. I'm thrilled to know people are entertained reading it, because I'm definitely entertained writing it._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Spike followed the wire all the way to the trigger point and satisfied that he once again had the right one, brought the cutters around it and in one swift movement, the wire was severed. "Third bomb is diffused," he announced, the cheerfulness half back in his voice. At least that was taken care of. Next step was to find Jules. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything else slowing them down starting now.

"Great job Spike," Greg's fatherly voice came through the comms, a soft sigh following his words, the relief obvious. He looked at his watch to see their demolition expert had once again lived up to the expectations and finished his task in 22 minutes rather than the 30 he had first promised. As predicted, after figuring out the first one, the other two had taken much less time since the bomb pattern had been the same on all three. "Grab your gear we're heading out. Eddie?"

Without voicing his question, the Team Leader understood what his Sergeant expected as an answer. He and Lead had made it to the subject's house minutes before and were now shuffling through his stuff, searching for anything that could help them find their missing team member, papers, clothes and objects flying around as there was no time to be wasted on keeping his house clean and undisturbed. "House is clear. No sign of Jules," Ed deadpanned, hiding the worry behind his tough façade. But his actions spoke volumes as he was nearly trashing the man's house, both in frustration for coming up blank and because he didn't think the man deserved anything else than to – at the very least – have his house trashed.

"Copy that, we're on our way," Greg's voice told them in their earpieces.

"Got a laptop," Leah urged and Ed looked in her direction as she walked his way before setting the computer on the dining room table. She opened the flip and brought it to life only to be met with a screen asking for a password. Of course, it couldn't be that easy. "Spike, I got a password protected computer. Can you walk me through?"

As their tech specialist acknowledged from the SUV he was sharing with Raf – while Greg had taken a second one in case they needed to split up later on – Ed nodded at Leah, allowing her to stay on that task. Computers held a lot of secrets, if not for files then for emails, pictures and browser history. So far, it was their best shot at getting intel. Meanwhile, he went back to rummaging through the house.

It was only a few minutes later that Leah cursed under her breath, loud enough for her mic to pick it up.

"Leah?" Ed questioned through the comms as he had now moved to the basement.

"Sorry," she started, apologizing for her use of words which were very unlike her. "I think the hard drive just formatted itself."

Even though Raf was the only one right next to him, they all clearly heard Spike's frustrated sigh. If Leah had done everything he had told her to – which he had no doubt she had – then it could only mean one thing. "He probably knew we'd try to bypass it and programmed an auto-format," he said, his voice sounding a bit defeated. "I'll work on it when I get there. Wouldn't be wise for him to lose everything without a back up, though. So look for external drives, USB keys or anything that could contain digital information."

Leah copied and left the laptop on the table to go back on a blind scavenger hunt, looking for information they weren't sure they would find. When she walked by the window that led to the backyard, movement caught her eye. She quickly approached to investigate, wondering if the rest of the team were already there but not recognizing the figure that was heading for the patio. "Ed, I got movement. Back door," she urged in a hushed tone as she took her weapon out, her eyes remaining on the man in the yard as he made his way to the door.

Merely a few seconds later, Ed's steps hurried up the stairs and to her side, his weapon already drawn as well. "Boss, what's your twenty?" he asked in case they needed back up.

"Seconds away."

"Copy," he quickly said before giving Leah silent instructions with a few waves of the hand and soon, they were both in position, hidden on each side of the door, ready to pounce on whomever the man was.

Except the man paused with his hand on the handle as his eyes scanned through the small window in the middle of the door. He quickly spun on his heels and ran back the way he came.

"He's on the run!" Leah exclaimed and Ed made his way out, falling into pursuit of the man while the former Firefighter went for the front door, hoping to come out and cut his route.

"Police! Stop right there!" Ed yelled at the man who didn't even look back and picked up the pace. Thankfully, Ed's intensive training allowed him to chase the subject with ease. As they made it towards the front of the house, Leah came running out but the man spotted her and switched directions into the road, heading away from them.

While both officers were in pursuit, Greg's SUV pulled in the street, the tell-tale blue and red lights flashing as he sped up to block the subject's path, which forced him to make a swift right turn into one of the neighbour's yard. Ed quickly followed, Leah in tow.

"Eddie?" Greg asked, wondering where he needed him to be to try and ambush the man.

"I got him," he responded with confidence as the subject was cornered, climbing a chain-link fence to get away. Ed caught up with him and before he could disappear on the other side, the SRU Team Leader held his weapon with one hand as he grabbed the man's belt with the other and pulled him down with strength, then shoved him on the ground. "Stay on the ground! Hands on your head, now!" he shouted, weapon aimed right at him in case he pulled one of his own.

Leah had made it to their side just as the man was shoved to the ground, trailing her own weapon on him as well. When he complied and brought his hands on his head, she kneeled next to him, quickly searched him to find a single 9mm, handed it over to Ed and then cuffed him before pulling him back to his feet. "Subject secure."

Greg nodded, mostly to himself as he got out of the parked SUV, seeing Raf and Spike's vehicle come to halt behind him. "Spike, computer. Raf, keep digging in the house. There's gotta be something in there that will clue us," he dispatched before jogging to where his other team members had gone.

Meanwhile, the Team Leader let his weapon dangle on his tact vest and took a menacing step forward, right into the man's face. "Who are you!?"

"I'm no one, alright?" he said as he tried to edge away from the officer, but Leah held him in place.

Ed wasted no time going from annoyed to pissed off. He grabbed the man's collar and pulled so he was right in his face. "You need to tell me right now where our officer is." His tone meant no non-sense but it didn't seem to faze their subject at all as he remained silent. Sending him a glare, Ed dug in the man's pockets, finding his wallet first, and then a phone.

Greg arrived to their side just at that moment and picked up the wallet from Ed's offering hand. Sliding his driver's licence out of its slot, he read the name on it. "Spencer White," he read out loud, looking at the man and validating the small image was the same as the live one. Satisfied, he handed it over to Leah and she nodded, darting to the SUV to go make more research on one of their SRU issued laptops. Ed took her place holding onto White and gave his Sergeant the phone. The officers' movements were smooth and in sync as they silently went about what they knew they had to do, as if they had it choreographed.

Greg then focused on White for a moment. "Spencer, I think you should start talking before your phone and your record does it for you. Cooperating can only make things better for you now." He let that sink in for a moment before he pressed on. "Where is our officer?"

"I don't know where she is."

The fact that he used a pronoun that was gender specific made both Greg and Ed share a look. Either he knew and was lying to them, either he was aware of which officer was to be taken, confirming their earlier theory that Jules had been the intended target.

Greg tried a different tactic. "What were you going to Dorian Flynn's house for?" As he was met with silence as well as a hateful glare, the Sergeant pursed his lips. The man was empty handed except for a weapon, meaning he didn't come to drop something off rather than pick something up. Greg addressed his team. "Team, he most likely came to retrieve something, Spike, it may very well be the laptop."

"Working on it, boss," came the immediate response.

Giving the subject another glance, Greg then looked at Eddie and pointed back to the street with a head-tilt. Ed took the subject along and Greg followed in their footsteps. He scanned the phone's content until he found what he had been looking for. "Winnie, I'm gonna give you the phone number that I'm about to use to make a call. Patch it through to the team."

"Copy that."

* * *

"NO!" Jules yelled again even after Flynn had pressed the trigger button on his phone. She couldn't bear the idea that some of her teammates would be victims of bombs because of her, because this lunatic had not believed that she didn't hold any other information. She watched the screen in horror, waiting for the white dots to fade away, the proof that the explosion killed her friends. The wait was unbearable, with every passing second, her emotions threatened to overflow, her body shaking uncontrollably. But eventually, too many seconds passed, the three white dots still there and moving.

Hope replaced fear in Jules' mind while for Flynn, it seemed to go the other way around. He looked down at his phone and pressed the button again a few times, only to realize it wasn't working.

Soon the white dots were quickly moving away from the scene, seemingly driving in two different SUVs. It gave Jules faith that they might have figured it all out and were finally coming for her, relief that they were alive and strength to keep trying to stall Flynn. She saw the shift in her captor's behaviour as an opportunity, control slipping out of his hands momentarily. It was her opening, her shot at talking him down and she was determined to use it.

"Dorian, listen to me," she started, her voice levelled and calm like it was whenever she was negotiating. It was miles away from the panic she had just felt not a minute ago. "You need to stop what you are doing right now. Abducting an officer is one thing, attempted murder is another. Don't make it worse for you."

"Worse for me?" he echoed in a near shout as his head snapped away from the computer screen and towards her. Anger flashed in his eyes. He pocketed his phone, obviously realizing the problem wasn't on his part rather than the SRU disarming the bombs, and then closed the distance between them, stopping when their faces were only inches close. "Darling they just made it worse for you."

His face was threatening, his voice sombre and yet, Jules held his stare without showing any sign of weakness. If he got off on damsels in distress, she was going to make sure to disappoint. While she couldn't say she felt good about what this foreshadowed, there was no way she would give him the satisfaction of having any control over her – at least not more than he already had. Now that she knew the team to be safe, she would die before giving him any other clue as to what was going on with Sam's mission, no matter how small they may be. He had nothing on her.

Flynn got out of her face and moved around her once again, disappearing in the corner of the room she couldn't see. Soon, she heard something rattling on the cement ground. It didn't sound heavy so it was as if he was purposefully letting it slide for dramatic effect.

When he appeared in her line of vision again, she could see that he was carrying a wooden baseball bat. Jules felt her throat constrict and she swallowed hard. She was well aware of his next intentions but she still voiced it. "What are you gonna do with that?" Again, her voice was incredibly levelled for the situation she was – or was about to be – in. Her pride was taking over; she wasn't going to let him win.

He gave the bat a soft kick while still holding the handle so it flipped vertically from the ground and settled against his shoulder. "I'm gonna either get answers, or great satisfaction."

Jules' heartbeat picked up a notch as he confirmed her worries but her face remained stoic. Trying to sound as confident as she wanted to appear, she waited a second before she spoke. "You can hit me all you want, it's not gonna change the fact that I know nothing." While she couldn't claim she'd been hit with a bat before, she knew enough about baseball to be aware that the force and the velocity coming from a full swing could break bones.

And while she had no desire for him to test that scientific fact on her, he seemed to have the exact opposite in mind. "We'll see about that," he said as he took a swing towards her, holding the bat with both hands.

Jules' body tensed, trying to ready herself for the blow but nothing could have prepared her for that. As soon as it made contact with her rib cage, she couldn't help but to let out a cry of pain that was stopped short when her diaphragm contracted from the blow and caused the wind to be knocked out of her momentarily.

She finally managed to inhale after too many long seconds, getting air back in her lungs. But the motion of her chest caused the pain to worsen and she moaned in agony. To have heard about the kind of ache it caused in first aid classes, she realized he might have broken one or more of her ribs. Her teeth gritted from the frustration of having to suffer through this because she couldn't get through to him.

Hanging her head down as she tried to take small breaths of air and keep the discomfort to a minimum, she fought the undesirable tears building up in her eyes. All she wanted to do was to curl up on the ground until the pain ended, give her sore body a much-needed break. However, she knew at this point that her comfort was the least of his priorities.

The tip of the bat leaned against her chest and then pushed under her chin, forcing her head to tilt back up until Flynn could see her pained eyes. Jerking her head to the side so she was free from the bat, she still kept her head up, fighting through the pain to stare at him, defiant. It was obvious by the way he kept grabbing her chin and making her look up at him that he was trying to show her he was in control.

"Wanna try that again?" Flynn asked as if expecting this to refresh her memory and give him the answers he sought.

"You know I can't give you what you're asking for. There's no reason for you to do this." She didn't want to sound like she was pleading despite her last effort to get him to see reason so she continued. "Unless it's because you enjoy beating on women."

"Only the mouthy ones."

On that note he swung again, this time hitting her straight on at the hips level, to which she responded with yet another painful cry. With the concussive force and because of how she was nearly suspended from the ceiling, the impact caused her body to swing back and forth, hanging from the chains for a moment until she could manage to settle her feet down again. Her entire body wanted to just shut down and save itself the torture, her muscles giving out, her breathing fast and shallow. But her head refused to give him that contentment.

Ignoring her reaction entirely as if nothing happened, Flynn carried on. "You're gonna give me the names of his crew members, if nothing else." She didn't fail to notice how he had switched from _questioning_ to _requesting_. Jules' eyes moved up to look at him. While she was sure he was taking some sort of sick pleasure in watching her suffer, his face was passive, almost aggressive. He meant business. Too bad she wasn't going to give him any.

Once again, her first thought was to tell him to go to hell but that wouldn't do her any good. Nor would remaining silent, she figured, but now that she knew her team to be safe, she had no reason to give him even the slightest hint of information.

Sam talked about his team quite a lot during their video calls, possibly because he was trying to relate to them like he did so well with Team One. However, Jules could tell that as much as he tried to recreate the same kind of family feeling he had with the SRU, nothing could ever replace what he'd left behind. She almost felt uneasy whenever he'd ask how the team back in Toronto was, afraid it might pain him more than do him good.

So yes, she did have that information, or part of it anyway. She knew some of them by nicknames, others by surnames only, a few by their ranks alone. But after everything Dorian had done to her, after everything he had almost done to the team and because of everything he wanted to do to Sam, she wasn't going to give him a thing.

"I will not," she said in a small tired voice as her level of energy was going down by the minute, pressing on all three words to make it clear that no matter how hard he'd try, she was done playing by his rules.

She didn't expect him to be happy about it however and he soon proved her right as he took two steps forward, stopping right in her face and grabbed her ponytail with his free hand, yanking it down and forcing her head backwards and her eyes up into his, to which she hissed. She didn't dare fight against it, afraid any extra movement might put a strain on her injuries.

"Funny how this time you're not denying having the knowledge," Flynn observed, speaking in a hushed tone but clearly audible due to their proximity. He pulled on her hair sharply once more and Jules squeezed her eyes shut but didn't utter a sound this time. "Don't lie to a subject, isn't that what the playbook says?" he asked rhetorically. Jules' eyes opened to look straight at him. Again, she didn't deny the fact that he was right. Her silence spoke volumes and Flynn's lips curled into a smirk. "Guess you enjoy pain, then." His smirk faded just as fast as it came and he let go of her hair. He started pacing around her slowly, letting the tip of his bat run along the edge of her waist, stopping in the small of her back when he was right behind her.

Jules stood still, again her eyes had followed his motion until she couldn't see him anymore. The bat dropped after a moment, ending the physical contact.

"So?"

His question was simple, the consequences of not answering it weren't. Yet, she already hated that she had to give him even the slightest piece information so she wasn't about to give him more, despite what it meant for her. So he hit a silent wall.

"Fine."

Pain exploded in her back as the bat hit straight on her left shoulder blade and then again seconds later right above the coccyx. As much as she had tried to ready herself and grit her teeth to keep from voicing her pain, the second blow was unexpected and, combined with the first, excruciating enough for her to let out another cry.

Again, she tried to take shallow breaths to avoid too large movement in her rib cage but she was out of breath and it was proving hard. The anticipation of being hit and her body trying to recover from the blows brought her heart rate up and she felt as if she'd just run a marathon, it was unsettling considering she had barely moved.

Behind her, she heard the wooden bat hit the ground as if it had just been tossed further away. While she should have normally felt some sort of relief knowing he was done with it, she figured it might actually be the beginning of something else, if her profiling on the man was even only partly correct.

Hearing Flynn's footsteps behind her, she tried to adjust her position, trying to find a more comfortable one under the circumstances. Her legs were weak, threatening to give out and her arms were strained for being held in the same position for so long and because of her bruised wrists supporting part of her weight. No matter how she held herself something was hurting and it caused her to let out a low groan, frustrated.

When the man appeared in her line of vision again, Jules stared at him, following his steps until he stopped right in front of her. He was holding something in his hands and as her gaze scanned down she recognized a roll of brown packing tape. She swallowed nervously, her eyes moving back up to look right into his but she didn't speak. There were only a handful of things he could possibly want to do with that but the most plausible one increased her irritation. Words were all she had left and he was about to take that away from her.

Seeing as she understood what it was for, Flynn's lips curled into a smirk and he spoke up. "If you're not gonna tell me anything good, no reason for you to speak or for me to hear you cry, right?" he explained as if giving her an undeniable reason for what he was about to do.

She wanted to argue that she wasn't _crying_ and wouldn't make a sound if he stopped beating on her but if those were her last words before he gagged her, she needed to chose them carefully. He was looking down at the roll, pulling a piece of tape when she spoke. "What I _can_ tell you is that you're not making things easier on you." Her voice was tired and groggy as if exhaustion was taking over. "If I'm not giving you what you want, then none of this matters and all you're going to get is more trouble."

Flynn stopped, hesitant, and he looked back up at her. She felt like she might have hit a nerve, or at least raise some kind of doubt in his mind. His eyes narrowed slightly. "You're just trying to save your ass," he pointed out as he brought the roll to his mouth, stuck the tape between his teeth and with a swift movement, cut the piece loose.

Trying her best to ignore what he was doing, Jules carried on. "Maybe. But believe it or not, I'm also trying to save yours."

His scoff told her that the doubt she had planted in his mind was gone, or that he had decided to disregard it. "I'm not the one whose ass needs saving here, darling." Without hesitation, he smacked the piece of tape over her mouth.

An unappreciative complaint escaped her throat and where her mouth couldn't speak anymore, her eyes made up for. She glared at him as he repeated the process with the roll of tape a second time and added a layer to her gag, offset of about an inch lower than the first, covering more of her facial skin and ensuring that she wouldn't be able to take it off. Not only was he making sure she wasn't going to speak unless he decided so but he was also dehumanizing her, rendering her easier to kill if it came down to it.

Flynn patted her right cheek twice where the tape ended, as if looking at a job well done. "There." He was staring at her with satisfaction while she was giving him the very opposite, her mad features causing him to chuckle. "You're lucky you're too pretty for me to mess up your face."

Jules wasn't sure if this was meant to be a compliment and since she couldn't ask, decided it wasn't. The phone he had pocketed long minutes earlier buzzed and he took a few steps away from her to answer the call, setting the roll of tape on the folding table on his way out. Having his attention diverted away from her, Jules let her head fall back and released a long sigh through her nose that convoyed pain, annoyance and – she hated to admit – desperation. In this position she could see where the cuffs cut in the skin of her bloodied and bruised wrists. Her entire body was in survival mode, fighting through the pain and the soreness but it didn't want to respond properly, not how she trained it to. She tilted her head down until her vision showed her the floor rather than the ceiling. Realization dawned on her that if the team didn't find her soon, she wasn't making it out alive.


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: I'm going to stop making promises of a new chapter 'soon' because life keeps throwing curve balls at me._

 _That said, I do promise to finish this story, I still have at least three chapters planned after this one, we'll see if that leads to more. Summer posting is just a little tougher so please bear with me._

 _I cannot thank you enough for the continuous support, reviews and follows alike. I know the Flashpoint fandom has - unfortunately - been a lot slower lately, but seeing people still interested in reading and writing about it makes me so happy! (Shameless advertising: if any of you are interested in RPing FP, hit me up through PM. I'm insatiable, cannot get enough of those characters.)_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Spike had easily managed to figure out how to get back the deleted files from the laptop and had installed a program that was now in the process of recovering most of them. Hopefully the information they needed would still be in there and not corrupted. Raf watched the laptop screen, ready to check for information once the files would be recovered while Spike worked on his own SRU issued computer to put a trace on the call Greg was about to make. "Ready, boss," he announced after a minute.

Outside the house, the team's Sergeant had been pacing, waiting for Spike to give him the go ahead. Ed was nearby, holding Flynn's accomplice and trying to get information out of him. Leah stood with her Team Leader after having found nothing of note on White's record, hopefully the both of them would be intimidating enough to get the man to talk. But so far, he was as good as mute.

Greg pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear. It took a few longs rings before a voice answered on the other side.

"Where the hell are you?" It was obvious Flynn had expected to speak with his partner rather than with the police.

"Dorian Flynn, this is Sergeant Greg Parker from the police, Strategic Response Unit. I believe you're holding one of my people hostage."

A scoff came quickly as a response, which angered Greg more than it should have. This wasn't supposed to be a funny game. The voice spoke up. "Wouldn't that mean I want something from you in return? She's hardly a hostage, she's more of a… captive."

The brutal honesty of those words caught the Sergeant off-guard. Images of what he could have done to her filled his mind but he pushed those thoughts away. He needed to focus on Flynn, try to talk him down in order to get Jules back safely. Unphased, his voice levelled as if the last piece of information hadn't bothered him at all, Greg pushed on. "Maybe I can help you get what you want-"

He wasn't even done with his sentence when the voice on the phone cut him off. "Only _she_ can. And she already decided she wasn't going to."

While he trusted her judgement and he was sure she had good reasons not to cooperate, Greg couldn't help the worry that build up inside of him knowing Jules had made herself expendable. "Wanna let me talk to her, Dorian? Ask her how she's doing?"

"I'm afraid that's a negative, Sergeant."

Greg's jaw clenched. He didn't usually let emotions get the best of him but at the moment he was losing his focus. One of theirs was in danger, probably already injured. As much as he knew Jules could hold her own, he feared for her safety, afraid of what Flynn might have already done – or was still planning on doing. "How am I gonna know that she's okay, Dorian?"

"Have faith, Sarge. I just need 10 more minutes with her and then she's all yours."

The line went dead and Greg slammed his hand on the hood of the SUV. "Spike?" he asked, his voice rising in anger at the situation.

Spike took a breath, almost afraid to answer Greg. "Call wasn't long enough, boss. But I narrowed it down to the West side of Vaughan."

"That's more than 10 minutes away," Ed grumbled, sparing a glance towards Greg from his position. He and Leah exchanged a look and she nodded, understanding what he implied. She made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle while Ed pushed the man they held in custody in the back seat before taking the driver's position. They needed a head start until they narrowed down the location. They were all thinking the same, if they made it there in more time, they might be met with what they dreaded the most.

Greg took a long breath. "Raf, Spike. We gotta move. Bring the computers," he said as he went for the second SUV, waiting for the two officers to join him. Ed pulled away just as Spike and Raf came darting out of the house with the laptops.

As they neared the vehicle, the accomplice's phone Greg had just spoken with vibrated and he took it out of his tact vest pocket. Checking the screen to see he had a message, he quickly opened the content to reveal a picture. He looked at it for a second before letting the arm holding the phone drop to his lap and adjusting his cap on his head like he usually did when he was losing control over a situation.

"Boss?" Raf asked as he stepped in the backseat, worried at his body language.

Ignoring the team Rookie, he brought the phone back in front of him and unwillingly transferred the picture to the whole team. "Check your PDAs," he simply said as he forced himself to look at it again. "Spike, can you narrow down the search in Vaughan for houses in construction or with a renovation permit?"

Spike was just taking his seat next to the Sergeant and frowned slightly. Before giving him an answer, he looked at his PDA and the picture that showed up. It was one of Jules, arms tied above her, chained to the ceiling, Her stance was sloppy, as if her body was too tired and battered up to stand up straight. She was looking down, her head hanging from her body tiredly and Spike could still see she had a gash on her cheek, a little blood trickling down where her skin's complexion had changed to a slightly bluer shade. A few strips of brown tape covered her mouth, efficiently keeping her mute – not that she looked like she had any strength left to talk anyway. Unfortunately, that also meant that Flynn didn't _need_ her to talk anymore, so time was running out.

Spike couldn't believe how Greg had managed to see anything else than Jules' battered figure in that picture. He cleared his throat, uneasy, as if he knew Jules would hate for them to see her like this. A strong rush of worry ran through him and he shuddered slightly. "Yeah boss," he said, his voice low as he finally noticed the unfinished basement-like walls behind her petite frame. Pocketing his PDA, he flipped open the laptop and started doing his research as Greg pulled in the street, taking the direction of the city of Vaughan.

They drove a few minutes in silence, both Raf and Spike working on their respective computers, Greg concentrated on the road ahead. Thankfully, the highways around Toronto weren't too crowded with traffic yet. But the SUVs still weren't fast enough in his opinion.

"Boss," the newest member of the team started, frowning slightly as he read something on the laptop screen. "I think I might have something of interest on Flynn. His computer is filled with Special Ops military files, operations he wasn't himself a part of. They all date from the past few months after he retired from the force. Then there are a bunch of email exchanges in… I'm guessing it's Arabic. The IP addresses link back to Iraq, Libya and Syria."

"What do they say?" Greg questioned about the emails.

Raf breathed out through his nose in slight frustration. "I put them through a translator. Small talk at first and then sentences and numbers that make no sense. Looks like they're coded messages."

"So he could be feeding information to terrorist forces over seas," Ed commented, having heard Raf's report through their comms. White's sudden uncomfortable shift in the back seat confirmed that theory. Why else would he need military files and reports if he retired? Why else bother coding the email exchanges he had with the Middle East?

For Greg, things were piecing up together. Their earlier hypothesis that this had something to do with Sam might turn out to be true. It would explain why Flynn mentioned only _she_ could help him. "And now he's trying to get Jules to talk about Sam's mission." The team went silent for a moment, each one of them reflecting on that idea. It also explained why Flynn mentioned Jules didn't want to give him what he wanted. She didn't want to compromise JTF2's mission and put the man she loved in possible danger.

Spike broke the silence. "Boss I narrowed down the search in Vaughan. There are currently

23 houses in construction and 11 with a renovation permit in the area where we traced the call." He paused for a second but knowing Greg would tell him it wasn't narrowed down enough, he continued. "So I cross-referenced with the name Flynn and his partner White. Came up blank. But," he said, dragging on the word, "then I checked their personal files and widened the search to extended family members. Turns out Spencer White's brother-in-law was in the military as well and served with Flynn."

In the other vehicle, Ed exchanged a look with Leah before glancing at White in the rear-view mirror, knowing the man couldn't hear their conversation. It explained the tie.

The team's technical expert continued. "Brendan Cornell. He died overseas last year, doesn't say how. Accessing the classified military file will take me a little while but I've got an address for you. One of the houses in construction is under his name. I'm sending it to your PDAs right now."

"That's good work, Spike," Greg said, to which the officer merely nodded. None of them were ready to claim victory yet, not until they were sure Jules was indeed there, and still breathing.

* * *

Breathing was painful. Each time her chest moved up, it felt like something was constricting her lungs, a sharp pain hitting her from the inside. Jules slowed down her breaths; it almost came naturally after having been a sniper for so long. It worked easing the discomfort to some extent, kept her chest movement to a minimum. Of course her ribs weren't the only reason for her current soreness. On top of nearly every bone in her body aching, the strain on her arms and shoulders and the raw skin of her burning wrists, she had a pounding headache that kept on getting worst by the minute, probably due to the hit that had knocked her out back in the command truck.

She was vaguely aware of the conversation Flynn was having as he had moved out of the room. She could hear him speak but couldn't make out every word. Until one of them caused her to look up. _Sergeant_. Considering he probably had a military background, was he talking to his own Sergeant? Or was he talking to the Boss? Was the team close? She knew that if her captor was held on the phone long enough, they would be able to trace the call and find their location. The problem was that Flynn seemed to be aware of that.

Jules heard the last words of his conversation clearly as he moved back in the room she was held in before he shut the phone. She studied him as he walked towards her slowly, a content smile on his lips. He needed 10 minutes to do what? Clearly, it wasn't to get answers anymore or he wouldn't have taped her mouth shut.

The worry caused her to lose focus on her slow breaths and as she inhaled deeply to calm her nerves, her chest movement caused an intense sharp pain to shoot through her. She repressed a whine but closed her eyes for a moment, letting her head drop forward slightly, hoping to concentrate on her breathing again.

Flynn had stopped moving and when she opened her eyes, she could see his feet about one meter in front of her, immobile. It was the clicking sound imitating a camera shutter that caused her to look up. He was holding his phone up towards her, looking at the screen at the picture he'd just taken. She let out a muffled protest, the lines on her forehead creased in annoyance as he typed on his screen, most likely sending the picture to her team for some sort of proof of life.

She wiggled as much as her bonds and her injuries would allow, which brought Flynn's attention back on her, amused. As if picking up on her uneasiness, he pocketed his phone and closed the distance between them again, standing inches close to her body. He ran one finger up her neck and then traced the edge of her jaw, taunting her. "I'm curious to know what you hate more. The situation you're in or your friends seeing you like this _._ "

Had she been able to speak, she would have chosen a third option and argued that she hated _him_ for causing it all in the first place. However, if she had to choose, it was definitely the latter. She could handle the pain a lot better than she could handle being seen as weak and helpless – as well as people worrying about her.

Seeing the intensity of her stare, Flynn chuckled, fingering the crease lines on her forehead that spoke up her hatred. "That's cute," he started as she tried to pull her head away from his touch without success. He then moved his hand down to the base of her neck, running his fingers along the collar of her shirt, his eyes focused on hers. "I like fierce women."

Summoning all the energy she had left, Jules swung her right leg up, knee bent and aiming right between his thighs. That motion hurt every ounce of her body, especially her battered ribs, but it was all worth it when she felt her knee make a satisfyingly strong contact with his groin, sending him to the ground in pain.

Wincing at the strain this caused on her, it took a moment for her to recover and refocus, breathing heavily through her nose, trying to push the pain away. Then she looked at the man writhing on the ground, holding what was left of his manhood with both hands. It was the first time she was actually looking _down_ on him and she had to admit it felt pretty good. _That fierce enough for you?_ she thought and wished with all of her might she could have cockily spat it out at him.

"Bitch," he gasped through his groans, almost as if he'd heard her thoughts.

It wasn't a significant victory, but it was a victory nonetheless, a small price to pay for everything he made her endure. While it was only delaying the inevitable, she was still satisfied to have shown him that despite the precarious situation she was in, she wasn't going down without a fight. The only reason she hadn't done it before was because she had tried to talk him down and not antagonize him. Now that negotiation was out of question and knowing the team was onto them and probably close to finding her, she had nothing to lose, she just had time to stretch. And she had just saved herself a few precious minutes.

It took a moment for Flynn to get back to his senses; a moment Jules savoured more than she would ever admit. She didn't usually wish bad things to happen to people – she had chosen a line of work to help keep it from happening – but she was willing to make an exception for him.

The glare he shot up at her as he pushed himself on one knee was filled with hatred, his teeth clenched in rage. She'd just made him lose a bit of control but, most importantly, she hurt his man pride. If her eyes had earlier relayed her anger, now they were lit up with contentment, her expression arrogant, even. It wasn't bound to last and she knew it, however.

Jules had expected him to straight up lash out at her but instead he slowly walked over to the folding table and grabbed the roll of tape he left there minutes earlier. Jules' face dropped, wondering what else he was planning on doing with it until he walked over to her right side and crouched down, loudly pulling a long stripe of tape from the roll as if to make a point. He forced her legs together, unbothered by the fact that it might sent her off balance, and wrapped the tape around her ankles more times than needed, securing them together.

The more this day went on, the more helpless he was rendering her. Not only did she realize he enjoyed it because he knew _she_ hated it but it was also making her efforts to get out of this situation – or at least buying some time – more and more difficult. Having her legs trapped together meant she would have to hang from her arms and swing both feet up at the same time to cause him any kind of harm, which in her current condition was near impossible. And Flynn obviously knew that.

Pushing himself up with a grunt as he was still possibly fighting through the pain in his groin, he then stood right in her face and grabbed her throat. "You think you're so clever, don't you?"

He was crushing her jaw with his fingers holding it in a tight hold more than he was cutting off her air supply. Jules clenched her teeth to keep herself from wincing. His voice was even colder than before, his eyes dangerous. But nothing that kept her from holding his stare. For one thing, she knew she hit a nerve by taking control away from him even for a short moment. She didn't know what he expected her to _do_ to that question considering she couldn't answer it but her expression remained the same, not giving anything away.

Flynn's eyes narrowed. Without saying anything, he let go of her and bent down to grab something strapped at his ankle. When he straightened up, he held a knife in his hand that Jules recognized as military issued both from the crest on the handle and from having seen a similar one in Sam's belongings.

Shit, new deal.

As the tip of the blade edged close to her neck, she tried backing her head away but the metal soon touched the skin under her chin, forcing her to lift it. Her breathing became slightly heavier, causing extra strain on her ribs. Flynn was barely touching her, yet he was back in full control.

"So here's how it's gonna go. Either this knife will cut the tape around your ankles if you tell me what I wanna know, either it cuts through that pretty skin of yours. So are you ready to talk now? 'Cause this is your last chance."

Despite giving her two options, Jules knew she didn't have a choice here. Cutting the bind that held her feet together was nowhere near freeing her and after everything he put her through and revealed, there was no chance he was letting her go. Giving him information was only giving him what he wanted and putting Sam into more possible danger. So she didn't need the ability to speak to make it crystal clear that she wasn't going to tell him anything. Her eyes spoke volumes.

Of course, Flynn caught her look and read right through it. "Fine, then. You brought this upon yourself."

She was about to grunt through the gag to protest against that statement when she felt a sharp acute sting in her chest and a cry escaped her throat, feeling the blade she'd been stabbed with painfully residing inside of her for a few seconds before coming right back out of the deep wound it just caused.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter._

 _Jam scene in there! (A scene from the show, given). The most avid Jam fans out there should recognize it after a few words, for the others, it shouldn't take more than a few paragraphs._

 _Heads up, but I'm off to a month-long trip. So next chapter should be up by the end of September._

 _Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews, for the follows and the favourites. You guys are love! (:_

* * *

Jules squeezed her eyes shut and groaned both in pain and frustration as she felt the blade move out of her wound. The cool tip was followed with the warmth of her own blood, causing an odd sensation through the layers of her skin and adding an unwilling dizziness to her already worn out mind. She'd seen blood before, she'd even bled out and been shot before. But this was no bullet wound. It was slow and agonizing, feeling the blade go in and come right out was like something was being ripped out of her. She had time to feel the process in its entirety.

She forced her eyes open to look down at her wound, at the blood that was already escaping her body and warmly making its way down her stomach, soaking her black shirt and soon would reach her grey trousers. He had hit her right below the sternum meaning the blade had found a way to her organs. And now that the numbness of the initial shock faded, it hurt like a bitch.

She tried to push the throbbing pain away, willing herself not to whine. Her vision blurred, her head got even dizzier. She couldn't focus, the different pains from different parts of her body slowly overwhelming her. She could handle a lot, she trained hard so her body could take everything that was thrown at her. But this was getting tough to deal with.

She heard Flynn's sarcastic 'aww' but couldn't even bring her head up to scowl at him, not even as he continued. "Poor little thing. Not so tough now, mh?" He reached out and prodded her just above her fresh wound with his finger. This time, she couldn't stop the whimper that vibrated in her throat. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

Even without seeing his face, the satisfactory smile and the sarcasm was obvious in his words. He moved away from her over to the folding table. Jules forced her gaze up to observe what he was doing only to find out it hurt her head too much. Letting her eyes close again, she listened to him rummaging around the room, possibly packing up the laptop and all his precious tools he used on her. She was trying to focus on that in order to forget about everything that was wrong with her and it worked to some extent.

A few minutes later, she heard him move towards the exit and he paused there. Once again, she opened her eyes and tried looking up at him. Everything was a blur, but she could make out his figure at the threshold, a bag strapped to his shoulder.

"I'll send Braddock your best regards."

She wanted to tell him to go fuck himself but even without the tape covering her mouth, she wasn't sure she would have been able to. Her eyes flashed with as much hatred as she could muster which triggered a last chuckle on Flynn's part and then he moved out of the room, leaving her trapped, alone and bleeding.

Letting out a long painful sigh through her nose, Jules prayed for the team to be close by. She wanted to succumb to unconsciousness and stop dealing with the pain but she knew she couldn't afford to lose her head and risk never waking up.

She wasn't entirely afraid to die. She'd been ready to die ever since she took the position with the SRU, knowing the risks that this kind of job entailed. But she's always been ready to die in the hopes of saving other people. Now, it would mean dying and putting Sam – of all people – in more danger.

Sam.

There wasn't anything she wished more than having him by her side right now, taking her in his arms, telling her everything was going to be alright. To know he was safe, to feel his warmth, to smell his intoxicating scent. To hear him tell her to use her sniper breathing techniques. Slow it down and hold, lower her heart rate…

 _"…_ _you'll lose less blood."_

 _While his voice appeared calm, she knew him well enough to hear the fear and distress behind it. She knew the idea of her slowly bleeding out on the other side of that glass was killing him possibly more than it was killing her, especially since there was nothing he could do._

 _She held her injured arm as tight as she could to try and stop the flow of blood to pour out. The piece of shrapnel that hit her artery was still lodged in and needed to remain that way but the pressure she applied only added to her discomfort. Her face was devoid of emotions, her eyes focused straight ahead as she slowly counted her breath._

 _Slow breath in._

 _Hold. 2. 3. 4. 5._

 _Slow breath out._

 _Sam claimed he was coming right in but she knew that was only a way to keep her calm. Xavier wouldn't let anyone in or out until he got what he wanted, even though she'd already told him the truth about the test results._

 _After a failed attempt to get herself and the hostages out of the room before the filiform level reached a point of no return, Jules had gone back to her position on the floor, trying to keep her breathing slow and steady, focusing on keeping a firm hold on her wound. It's when an alarm started beeping on one of the computers to her left that she became highly aware of the contamination threat and how fast they needed to get out. Her heartbeat increased as she looked back ahead of her, trying to gain control over her emotions, over her senses. This wasn't the end, she needed to keep fighting to stay conscious but fear was settling in and taking control over her body._

 _As if sensing her sudden distress, Sam spoke up. "Jules. Slow your breath. Okay?"_

 _His voice was calm and comforting and just hearing it helped her relax, even in the slightest. But despite her best attempts to slow her breathing, her stress level was too high to counter and she was slowly giving into fatigue. Her body wanted to shut down, her brain wanted to compensate for the blood loss._

 _"_ _Count it out. Keep your heart rate real' low."_

 _For a second, she concentrated on just that, taking in Sam's words, taking comfort in the fact that he was right there with her. She could see him and while his expression conveyed fear and worry, she knew she had to listen to what he was saying. She took a few slow but shaky breaths, trying to follow his advice to the best of her capability._

 _Then soft whimpers by her side made her snap back to reality. There were still two hostages that needed to get to safety, one of them injured. Jules turned her attention up to the subject, her movements jerking, unnatural, as her mind was getting dizzier._

 _"_ _Xavier, we're running out of time," she said, breathing it out as in a last effort to get through to him, using all the energy she had left to blurt out those few words. Then her vision went from blurred to spotted, darkness filling her eyes like she was about to faint._

 _"_ _Jules… Jules?" Sam's worry was palpable. While the first time he said her name had a warning tone to it, the second was sheer concern._

 _She didn't even realize her body was tilting down until her right side touched the floor._

 _"_ _Jules!" Now, it was all panic._

 _However, in this position, she felt her light-headedness subside a little, her near pitch-black vision leaving place to the whiteness of the lab surrounding her. She felt a hand on her arm over her own, applying extra pressure. The movement on the piece of shrapnel sent a rush of pain through her body._

 _"_ _Is she okay?" Xavier's concern was real, if nothing else._

 _"_ _She's lost a lot of blood," Dr. Applewood answered and then addressed her. "You gotta apply constant pressure, okay?"_

 _"_ _Okay." Her voice was higher-pitched from the pain she was trying to push away._

 _"_ _Alright, keep your head down."_

 _"_ _Okay." She was mostly replying by mechanism as if to prove she was still conscious._

 _Then, Sam's voice filled the entire room, speaking directly to Xavier through the intercom, trying to get him to cooperate where she had failed. There was a pleading tone to his voice but Jules couldn't help but admire how levelled and controlled he was. Had this been the other way around, she wasn't sure she could have spoken with as much confidence, trying to reason with the man who might cause the love of her life to die._

 _When Xavier finally agreed to let both women go, she let out an unwilling sigh. She knew that technically, she couldn't leave until Dr. Applewood did as well because of the priority of life protocol but at least, they were getting the injured woman out._

 _"_ _Jules, I'm on my way."_

 _Sam's words echoed in her mind, soothing her. She replayed them over and over just to believe they were true._

 _They'd proven before that they made a good team through crisis, even more so now that they were back together and could communicate without words, understanding each other in a single glance, in a single breath. She could only hope that Sam wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him, that he would embrace the priority of life code despite her being down. He had to, if not for the other hostages, then at least for them, for their future on the team._

 _As the door opened to reveal a suited up Sam, their gaze locked for long seconds. Jules' was filled with relief but a hint of sadness for seeing him so close and yet so far. She silently begged him to go for Logan and not her. His body was angled towards her for too long but then he switched directions, sending her a last glance, asking for her forgiveness for leaving her bleeding on the cold ground. Jules watched as he picked the woman up and carried her to the decontamination chamber. As soon as he was in, his eyes went straight back on hers, his body language speaking volumes that he hated this situation, that he wanted to be back in there to pick_ her _up. Jules would never hate him for it, no matter what he said. He was doing his job. They made vows not to let their relationship interfere with their work, and that was exactly what he was doing. But she kept looking at him, this constant eyes contact keeping her grounded, giving her the energy to keep fighting, to get out of this so he could finally wrap his arms around her properly._

 _It took long minutes before the news of the cover up came to her ears, but when it did, she needed to act fast. Helped up by Dr. Applewood, she explained to Xavier what she had just heard, prompting him to get out of the room with the doctor before the safety threshold of filiform level was breached. But Xavier turned her offer around and insisted she go first as he was already sick anyway._

 _This selfless act confirmed that he meant no harm but just wanted the truth. While he had gone through extremes to prove his point, she could understand him wanting to know why and how he had gotten sentenced to die a slow death._

 _As she was helped up and led to the decontamination chamber, she put most of her weight on the doctor, still holding her wound as tightly as she could. She then leaned back against the wall as she waited for the process to be over. She let out a long breath, a single whimper of pain escaping her lips, eager to be on the other side, safely by Sam's side._

 _If he could have opened the door quicker, he would have done it. It took a second after the teller light turned green for Sam to have his arms around her, getting her out and handing her over to the medic on scene. She was brought to a gurney, laid down and tended to. She badly wanted to tell them to leave her with Sam alone. She needed him close, like she's never needed anybody before. She heard Ed and the medic but ignored them, her eyes solely on the man she loved above anyone else as he was standing right by her side._

 _The medic brought an oxygen mask above her and just as he placed it on, she mouthed three words._ I love you _._

 _Their gaze locked for long seconds before Sam shot a glance behind him, as if making sure no one was watching. He then took his earpiece off and spoke those same three words. "I love you." They were filled with so much truth, tainted with relief and sorrow all the same that Jules felt her heart constrict in her chest, emotions overwhelming her. She gave him a faint nod to let him know she had heard him despite having a hard time responding to it otherwise. He nodded back in reassurance and she knew by that simple gesture that he was going to be the first one there waiting for her at the hospital, that he would be present for her all the way._

 _"_ _You're gonna be okay, Jules."_

 _And she was._

But was she, now?

Trying to push away the pain from her current stab wound, she replayed his words in her mind over and over again, as if it would make them come true. _You're gonna be okay, Jules._ As she counted her breathing to slow it down, she thought back on her own mouthed words back at the lab, hoping that by some miracle, they would travel the thousands of miles separating them now through thought process and reach Sam. _I love you_.

* * *

Greg had stopped counting the number of times he had checked his watch as he drove over to the location given by Spike. They had quickly caught up with Ed's SUV and despite their speed on the highway, they were at least 11 minutes _over_ the 10-minute mark Flynn had mentioned. While he didn't expect this to necessarily be a precise time indicator, something in the back of the Sergeant's mind reminded him of the bombs Spike had disarmed under the SUVs and the one back in that building. 10 minutes could have very well been the timer countdown on a new one.

He shook that thought away when they finally pulled into the right street, blue and red lights still flashing from when they had darted on the highway but the sirens had been turned off. If Flynn was still in the house, then they needed to catch him, not scare him off and give him a chance to flee the scene. Both SUVs came to a stop a few houses short of the one that used to be owned by Brendan Cornell and Greg repressed a sigh of relief when he realized the house was still intact. No bombs had gone off, at least not yet. But he knew too well it didn't mean the situation inside was any better.

The SUVs were barely halted when all 5 officers darted out, leaving White locked in the back of one of the vehicles. They quickly grabbed the gear they would need and split up in two teams. Ed and Raf took the back door while Leah, Spike and Greg took the front.

Once they were in position, Ed stepped up to synchronize both teams. "On my mark. 1, 2, 3!" As soon as the third number was heard, both doors were slammed down with force. Ed was the first to step in, weapon raised, his senses on high alert, his heartbeat beating a little faster. It usually did when he was high on adrenaline but now that one of their own was in peril and they might be close to finding and rescuing her, it felt even stronger. "Police, SRU!" he shouted as both he and Raf moved in unison, clearing the back of the house and moving through the other rooms as fast as possible. The ground floor was clear and they soon met with the rest of the team at the stairwell that led upstairs. With quick hand motions that were used as silent codes between the officers, he sent Greg's team downstairs while he motioned that they would check the top floor. While he knew by the picture they had been sent that they would most likely find them in the basement, having the team's lead negotiator reach them first might be their best chance for now.

Ed moved up the stairs quickly, followed closely by Raf. If his hunch about the basement was right, then he wanted to clear the house as fast as possible and go give Greg some extra back up. Thankfully, the rooms were nearly empty since the house was still under construction, meaning that clearing them happened faster. It didn't take long before Ed and Raf met at the top of the staircase after confirming that all rooms were clear.

Ed was nearly running down the stairs when Greg's voice came in the team's comm. "They're not here." There was a hint of sorrow in his voice.

It stopped Ed right in his tracks, pausing mid staircase to take that in. "What?"

"I don't think they ever were, Eddie. Basement is completely empty. No sign of struggle. No blood, no marks. Nothing."

Ed clenched his teeth as he felt rage burning inside of him. Rage that was also tinted with failure. "Son of a bitch," he cursed as he resumed bolting down the stairs.

Just like he had been the first one in the house, Ed was also the first one darting out, his large steps heading over to the SUV he had vacated minutes before. He opened the back door, grabbed the man they held in custody by his shirt's collar and pulled him out with force before slamming him against the side of the vehicle. "Where are they!?" he yelled for emphasis, due to their proximity it was obvious the man would have heard him with a simple whisper.

White held his stare despite the obvious uneasiness for being pinned back with such force by the Team Leader's tall figure. He eyed the other officers as they closed in on them but didn't say anything. Ed pulled on his shirt with both hands this time before slamming him against the SUV once more. Normally, Greg would have told him to go easy on him but considering he was their only chance at getting Jules back, he observed silently.

Ed took a step forward and brought his forearm against the base of his neck to hold him in position as he leaned in, his face inches close to the man. His voice was considerably lower but the threatening edge was even more persistent. "I suggest you start talking and help yourself here because if she dies, you're going away for a much longer time. And that's if I don't put a bullet through you first."

White seemed to consider it for a moment. His eyes darted over to the Team's Sergeant as if expecting him to deny everything Ed had just said but he was met with a stoic face that didn't give anything away. Looking back towards the Team Leader, he frowned slightly.

"It's not gonna bring my brother-in-law back," he spoke up finally.

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. Spike hadn't found anything on the deceased man yet but things were starting to piece up. Did these men seek revenge on the forces for what happened? Pushing that thought aside for the moment, Ed brought his hand to hold the man's chin, roughly pressing him against the side of the SUV and clenched his jaw. "And you think letting her die will?"

The man hesitated for a moment, holding the SRU Team Leader's stare. "What makes you think he plans on killing her?"

"Because he didn't make any demands," Ed quickly snapped in response and a thought crossed his mind, something he was planning on using. He let go of his chin but kept his hand on his neck. "He didn't even bargain to have you back. He doesn't care for you, you're just an accessory." He let that sink in for a moment and judging by the way White's nose curled up in annoyance, it seemed to have the desired effect. "Where are they?" They had already lost precious minutes, they needed to hurry if Flynn turned out half a dangerous as he sounded.

It took a few seconds but eventually, the man's chin pointed towards the street. "Fourth house on the right."

Ed followed his gaze for a moment as the rest of the team darted in that direction and then looked back at White, still holding onto him. "And what tells me you're not just playing us again?"

"Look I have no idea if they're still there, that's where they were supposed to be. We figured if you came looking for us, you'd eventually find Brendan's house. That one isn't occupied yet, it seemed like a good option, gave us a chance to see you guys coming."

Not liking the odds of them finding Flynn with this new intel, Ed grabbed White again and shoved him back in the backseat where he had been a minute before, locked him in and followed quickly after the rest of the team. If the subject saw them coming, he was probably long gone by now. Maybe all this talking gave him enough time to leave with Jules, too.

Having a few seconds behind the others, Ed joined the half of the team that was on the white wall while Leah and Spike had gone to the back. "Let's move, let's go!" he barked as soon as he made it by the door and once again, they kicked down the doors in unison.

Greg was following close behind Eddie. He was normally keeping his cool on the rare occasions he was part of an entry team but this time around with Jules in harm's way, he couldn't help but to feel an added nervousness at what they could find here.

They cleared the ground floor and soon Ed led his small group over to the basement door, knowing the other two would take care of the top story. Carefully, he went down the set of stairs, Greg and Raf on his six. The house was divided differently than the one they had just cleared even though the cement ground and the unfinished walls looked the same. The three of them fanned out and took different rooms.

It was Greg who found her. The room was the same he'd seen in the picture, Jules was nearly hanging from the ceiling right in the middle of it. While her position was similar from what he'd seen on his PDA, one big difference caused the Sergeant's throat to tighten and his heart to flip in his chest. "Eddie!" he urged, looking in sheer horror at the blood trail from her chest to the pool that accumulated on the ground at her feet. Seeing as she was alone in the room, he holstered his weapon as he ran to her. His first instinct was to apply pressure on the wound to keep it from bleeding out. "Jules!?" he asked in a panic-stricken voice as she didn't move an inch before pulling the glove off his free hand with his teeth and touching her neck, looking for a pulse.

Ed appeared in the doorway at that exact moment, followed by Raf. Both of them froze at the sight for a second and then darted to give their boss a hand.

The pulse was weak, but it was there and Greg breathed out in relief. "Winnie, we need EMS right now!"

"Already on the way!" the dispatcher replied.

While Greg kept pressure on what looked like a stab wound, Ed supported Jules' body while Raf unlocked the cuffs, setting her free.

"Careful," the Sergeant instructed, worried the extent of her injuries would be worsened if they were too rough with her even though they were only trying to get her out of this uncomfortable position. Now that they had a better look at her, what they hadn't seen earlier on the picture was that on the other side of her head at the hairline was a bleeding wound, probably where her head had been hit back in the command truck.

A soft whimper escaped Jules' throat when, after freeing her arms, they slowly set her on the ground. Her being responsive, even though it also meant she was in pain, was enough to warm Greg's heart. She was a fighter, she was going to pull through if she was given the chance.

While Ed cut the tape around her ankles, Greg carefully peeled off the strips that covered her mouth to give her a chance to breathe more easily. "Jules, you're gonna be alright. We got you." He wasn't sure she was hearing him in her current condition – her eyes were still closed and she was having no apparent control over her limbs – but he still felt the need to comfort her. She didn't look fully unconscious however. Her face wasn't peaceful like she was sleeping, it looked like she was fighting it, fighting the pain, fighting the darkness.

"Ed!" Leah's voice cut through the comms, causing the Team Leader to finally tear his horrified gaze away from Jules' battered frame. "I got Flynn trying to break White out of the SUV!" By the tone of her voice, she was already making her way in that particular direction.

Greg looked up at Ed and Raf and seeing as there was nothing more they could do here until the medics arrived, he quickly nodded at them. "Go! I'll stay with her."

None of them needed to be told twice and they quickly darted off.

After they were out of his sight, Greg looked back down at Jules, his features tainted with sadness. He still maintained pressure on her wound to keep more blood from leaving her body. Although by the looks of it, whatever he had stabbed her with hadn't reached a major artery or she would have already bled out. He studied her, giving her a proper once-over for the first time. Not unlike what they had seen in the picture, the right side of her face was tinted with a soft shade of blue and an inch long gash went across her cheekbone. There were also definite bruises along her jawline. Then, there was the head wound on her left side. It was hard to tell what she could have been hit with, but the contusion was large and if it had knocked her out cold, Greg feared for a concussion on top of everything else. Sadly, those were only the currently visible trauma her body had endured. He hoped there weren't any more.

"Sarge," Jules' weak voice spoke after a moment.

Greg looked up to her face as her arm tried to reach out for him. He grabbed his hand in hers to keep her from moving any further than she had to. "Easy, kiddo. Easy. I'm right here." His eyes stopped on her wrist as two definite bloody lacerations showed where the metal dug in her skin, telling him how tight the cuffs had been. The whole area was reddened except for a bright bruise-blue spot where the thumb bone began.

"Sam," she managed to blurt out as her eyes flickered half-open. Her nose curled up in pain. "Flynn… Sam…"

"We know, Jules. The Team's going after him right now. Sam will be fine. Just stay with me." He couldn't help but notice that in typical Jules fashion, despite being in a life-threatening situation, she still worried about the others' well-being first and foremost.

A soft hum made for an answer and her eyes closed fully again as she winced.

"Winnie, where's my ambulance?" Greg questioned, seeing the obvious pain in Jules' body language. He wished he could do something to take it all away and ease her suffering. He couldn't believe everything she'd gone through, he couldn't believe Flynn had taken her from right under their nose.

"Seconds away!" Winnie chimed in.

As if knowing she was now in good hands and that the team had found her and would take care of Flynn, Jules succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

 _AN 2: Ready for Sam to find out about this?_


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: I am back, and here it is, as promised! Sam is in the house! (And here to stay, from now on.)_

 _I want to apologize to any people working in the medical field, because as much as I researched all of what I'm writing below, I might have gotten a thousand things wrong. Hopefully it's close enough to reality that it makes sense. (My training is in communications, very very VERY far away from anything health related)._

 _As always, I truly appreciate your support, can't thank you enough for the reviews and the follows! Keep 'em coming!_

* * *

Sam and his team had been out on mission for the entire night and while he couldn't complain because it had been a success through and through, he was drained of energy and his only wish was to get some much-deserved sleep. For having been overseas in the past, he knew even before he left Toronto that this was going to be hard on his body, not because of the training and the missions themselves but because of the excessive heat and the odd schedules he would have to force his body through. While the SRU wasn't exactly known for giving its Teams 9 to 5 schedules, at least they were more regular, working nights for a certain amount of shifts, then switching to days, meaning your body could have some time to adjust. Here, it was much different. They could go for the entire day before pulling out an all-nighter merely hours later.

As he reached his bunk, he let his helmet drop on the mattress with a loud sigh and as usual, went straight for the phone that he left right under his pillow. He never took it out in mission for two reasons, the first being that it was useless since there was no cell phone signal where they were – he could only use the WiFi on base – and second because in the unlikely, although possible, eventuality that he was made prisoner, he didn't want any of its content and messages to be used against him or against people he cared about.

He made a quick math in his mind that with the time zone difference, it was roughly 10pm in Toronto, meaning Jules was supposed to be off shift and most likely home. However, as he brought the phone up, he was surprised to see that the message he received wasn't from her, but from Greg Parker. Surprise was quickly replaced by concern as he unlocked the main screen and opened the said message.

 _"_ _Something happened. It's Jules, she's in the hospital. Call me as soon as you can."_

Sam's heart sunk in his chest as he read the message a few more times. He noted how the Sergeant had not mentioned that she would be fine. Greg had to be aware that it would have kept him from panicking and he would have normally included it in his message if he knew for sure. It meant that whatever happened to Jules was serious and possibly life-threatening. The cold sweat he was having right now had nothing to do with the mission they'd just came back from.

When his body could function again, his thumb flipped through the apps on his phone to find the one he was looking for, scanned his contacts and found Greg's. As he pressed the button to make the call, he brought the phone to his ear and darted out of the tent. On his way out, one of his teammates asked if he was alright but Sam was completely oblivious of his presence and brushed past him, focused solely on the ringing in his ear, hoping his former boss would pick up. He did just as Sam reached the fresh early morning air.

"Sam."

It was only one word and yet, Sam could hear that his voice was sombre and serious, a lot more than usual. "Is she alright?" The panic was obvious in the younger man's words.

"She's still unconscious," Greg answered. It was obvious he hated to be the bearer of bad news. "She should pull through but she has multiple injuries and the doctors fear for severe infection inside her abdomen."

Something caught in Sam's throat hearing all of this so bluntly. Even though he appreciated the Boss telling it as it was and not beating around the bush, this was a lot to take on right now. The only idea of Jules being injured was unbearable to him. But the idea of her suffering through _multiple_ injuries while he was thousands of miles away and couldn't do anything about it was excruciating. "What happened?" He was blurting out his questions with such frenzy that his former Sergeant seemed to take his sweet time before answering, as if to try and calm him down some.

"She was knocked out and abducted from the command truck while we were working on a bomb threat."

With his free hand, Sam rubbed his face quickly a few times. Out of everything that could have happened to her, he probably hated this one the most. It meant that for how many hours she'd been abducted, she was vulnerable, probably manhandled, mistreated and judging by the extent of her – however yet unknown to him – injuries, put through some kind of hell _on purpose._ It wasn't a lost bullet or an explosion that took her in.

He felt his knees buck beneath him and quickly moved to sit on a supply case nearby, burying his face in his hand as he kept the phone pressed against his ear. He was shaking uncontrollably and had to take a few deep breaths to calm down and focus on the positive side of things. At least they had gotten her back. But would have this occurred in the first place if he'd been around? Would his presence have somehow kept it from happening?

He really wanted to ask who had taken her but there was another question burning his lips first. "How bad is she hurt?" What he really wanted to ask was where the bastard who took her had laid hands on her, but he knew better than to actually voice it. He knew Jules could handle a lot but the idea of anybody touching even an inch of her body made him furious.

There was a soft sigh on the other side of the phone and Sam could picture Greg rubbing his eyes with the side of his hand, hating that he was the one having to tell him any of it. "Head wound, a few broken ribs and too many bruises. But he also stabbed her." His voice had considerably lowered at the last part and Sam felt his blood start to boil but the SRU Sergeant continued before he could say anything else. "Punctured her liver. She suffered internal bleeding. They put her through surgery to seal the leaking blood vessels and avoid a more severe haemorrhage."

Sam took it all in for a few seconds, trying to compose his thoughts, trying not to burst into a fit of violence and kick everything around him, trying to control the bile that was raising in his throat and threatening to make him retch. He was stronger than that and it wouldn't do anybody any good for him to lose his temper. Besides, this anger was only a natural reaction to counter the fear and the pain that was brought in him by the idea of Jules being hurt. Still, his jaw rocked a few times, the grip on his device tightening.

"Sam, that's not the only reason why I wanted to talk to you." Greg said after a moment of silence. "Do the names Dorian Flynn or Brendan Cornell ring any bell?"

Sam didn't think there was anything more important than knowing exactly what Greg had just told him about Jules, so it confused him to know there was another reason. "No," he breathed out, shaking his head slightly to focus on their conversation rather than his own dark thoughts. "Are those the bastards who did this to her?"

"Flynn is, yes," Greg deadpanned.

"Did you catch him?" The question came before the SRU Sergeant could place another word. If they hadn't, Sam would vow to make it a personal mission to go haul his ass to jail, after giving his face a makeover.

"Yes, Sam." The answer was almost patronizing. Greg quickly spoke again before he could be cut off. "Listen, there's a reason why he chose her. We believe he's gathered information on JTF2's mission and is feeding the Middle East. He took her to gain more information on you, Sam. On your team. There's a possibility that your mission is compromised as we speak."

Sam fell silent as he pushed himself up to his feet again and started looking around, as if trying to find something out of the ordinary that would prove Greg right. "How?"

There was a soft sigh on the line. "We don't know yet. The subject isn't speaking and since Jules is still unconscious, I couldn't ask her what happened in there exactly." Sam wanted to ask what 'in there' meant but he didn't. Sarge continued. "We found emails but they're coded messages. Spike and Raf are working on it." A pause. "But him and Cornell both served in the Special Forces up until last year. Cornell died overseas. Spike found out that he was taken prisoner by terrorists who asked for a ransom in exchange for his life. Army didn't want to negotiate, they tried to get him out but he was killed before they could rescue him. We think this might all be some sort of revenge on the military."

Sam sighed loudly, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to take in everything that Greg had just told him. While he knew the threat that their mission might be compromised was imminent and meant they needed to come up with a different plan fast, Sam's mind couldn't shake off the concern he had about Jules' well-being, the fear that she might not pull out of it. Especially since, technically, this was all because of him. _Jules, I'm so sorry_ , he thought, beating himself over this. It wouldn't have happened if he hadn't taken that job overseas. It wouldn't have happened if he chose _her_ over taking that stupid job to please his father and to make himself feel better for making a difference. It wouldn't have happened if, in the first place, they'd been more careful about their secret relationship and hadn't been forced apart. "I'll ask around, see if people here have heard of that incident, try to get more information." To say this task made him less than enthusiastic would be an understatement. There was nothing else that mattered to him right now other than finding a way to get over to Jules' side, hold her and kiss all of her injuries away.

As if reading his thoughts, Greg spoke again. "I'll let you know as soon as Jules wakes up. Give you updates on her condition. I promise."

"Thanks Boss." Even though the words were genuine, his voice was devoid of emotions, lost in thoughts, his mind filled with images of the woman he loved laying in a hospital bed, unconscious and beaten.

"Sam just-" Greg hesitated for a second. "Just watch your back, alright?"

"I will." But Sam wasn't planning on having to watch his back in this place for long.

* * *

Jules' eyes fluttered open but she squeezed them shut just as quickly as a pounding headache hit her like a ton of bricks. She tried shifting her position but her body protested and decided otherwise, forcing a whine to escape her lips. It took long seconds for her brain to recollect why she was hurting all over and feeling like she'd been used as a punching bag, only to remember that she had, to some extent.

"Easy, easy."

Greg's recognizable voice filled her ears as his warm hand gently touched her shoulder to keep her from moving. She settled back on the pillow and let out a sharp irritated breath but that sole movement caused her to wince, only adding to her annoyance. She found herself wondering why her body had decided to wake up if it was only to have her suffer through all the pain she'd already been forced to endure.

She opened her eyes again. At first her vision was blurred but it soon became clearer and she could make out the outline of a hospital room, the neon shining on her just as much as the dawn of day was from the curtain covered windows. She tried to avoid moving any limbs but her eyes searched around, falling on an intravenous drip embedded on top of her left hand and then settled on her Sergeant, to whom she forced what she figured was only the ghost of a smile. "Hey," she managed to blurt out, her hoarse voice alone telling her how weak she was.

"Hey," Greg responded, his smile growing bigger as his eyes deep brown eyes fixed on hers, obliviously glad to see her awake.

She couldn't say he was the person she'd wished to see the most when she woke up, but he was definitely the second best. The last two times she'd been in the hospital, she had woken up with Sam next to her. However, both times she was faced not with a smile but with his guilty face, looking at her like she was a broken item in a bone china set, killing himself over the idea that he could have done something to keep it from happening. And no matter how many times she'd told him he did everything he could and that it wasn't his fault, Jules felt like her words had been ignored.

While the last moments of her previous conscious state were a total blur, she could vaguely remember Greg holding onto her before she passed out, remembered feeling the strong but gentle hands of her teammates setting her free. "Thanks, Sarge," she said, taking a moment to close her eyes again as if speaking was requiring all of the energy she had left.

Unsure what she was thanking him for, Greg rose a brow and leaned in on his chair to get a little closer to her. "What for, Jules?"

When she opened her eyes again and looked at him, she could see his traits were drawn as if he'd barely slept and she realized he'd probably been by her side the whole night. "Well for one, pulling an all-nighter in that chair," she said, her words slow and weak but coming out clearly enough to be understood. She curled the side of her lips into a smirk. Greg smiled and shook his head but his silence told her she had been right on. "And for getting me out." A spasm ran through her and she hissed, feeling every single bruise on her body, her ribs reminding her of that damn baseball bat, the sting in her abdomen of that damn knife.

The Boss' smile dropped as he regarded her with sorrow. "Only doing what we had to do. I just wish we could have gotten there sooner."

"Me too, trust me." She closed her eyes to try and ease her migraine but once again, her lips curled into a smile to show she was only kidding. Or half-kidding at least. She didn't hold it against them to have gotten there too late to save her from a stab wound, she was just glad to be alive even though it meant feeling each and every one of her injuries. Then a thought crossed her mind. "Everyone okay?" she asked, looking at him again, concerned that Flynn might not have stopped with her but attacked her teammates as well. After all, he did threaten to blow them up if she didn't talk. If that attack hadn't been successful, she hoped none other was either.

"Everyone's fine. Sam too."

If she hadn't voiced that particular question, she was definitely glad to hear the answer. "You spoke to him?" Her voice was even lower than it had been. She dreaded his reaction to the news that she had been injured. She would have rather save him the worry, especially since he was away and there really wasn't anything he could do about it.

Greg nodded in answer. "I'll send him a message soon, let him know you're awake," he added as if reading her thoughts.

She started nodding too but soon stopped as it worsened the headache that was already pounding in her skull. Closing her eyes, she took a long breath, trying not to move her ribs too much, and let it out slowly, fighting through the pain and the fatigue. She still had so many questions for her Sergeant but she could barely keep her eyes open. "Did you catch him?"

There was hesitation on the Boss' part and Jules found herself opening her eyes and looking at him, hoping to read his expression and get the answer he wasn't giving her.

"Yes," he said, meeting her eyes. "He tried getting his accomplice out of the SUV we brought him in. Leah saw him, he tried to make a run for it but you know Eddie…" He paused and gave her a quick smile at the thought. "Team chased him, it took about half a minute for Ed to have him pinned down, face against the gravel."

"He was probably slowed down because of his swollen balls," Jules added as an afterthought, another brief smile of her own crossing her lips.

Greg regarded her for a moment, his smile growing slightly bigger, amused as he understood what this meant. Had to figure Jules wouldn't go down without a fight.

She closed her eyes again and sighed both at the constant discomfort she couldn't shake off and the fact that she knew this wasn't the end of the story. "What are you not saying, Sarge?"

It took a few seconds before he responded, long enough for Jules to open her eyes and look at him with a slightly raised brow. "Flynn isn't talking, neither is his partner. We don't know how much they know or what they know, or if they have already relayed the information to a third party. We found email exchanges but they were coded, Spike's been working on it but we had to hand everything over to the Special Forces. It's all in their hands now."

Another sigh escaped Jules' lips. While she trusted they knew what they were doing, she couldn't help but to worry and wonder if it would keep Sam away for even longer.

"What did he want to know?"

Greg's voice got her out of her thoughts and she let her eyes linger on him for a moment. "He wanted to know where the mission was. Apparently he knew _what_ it entailed already, just needed a location and information on the team running it. Names, weapons, tactics." Jules took a breath and slowly let it out. "Assumed I knew all of that. I only told him what Sam's had mentioned about his flight there and when they transferred bases because…" Jules hesitated, hating to admit that she hadn't been strong enough to not give him anything at all. "Because he threatened to blow the team up."

She let her gaze drop in shame at the idea that she might have put Sam in more danger because of it but soon felt a hand grab onto hers, cupping it lovingly, careful not to touch the bandage that covered her battered wrist. Once again, Jules looked up at Greg, his soft and reassuring voice filling the silence. "Sam will be fine. And he'll be back soon enough."

Greg had seen her in the past months. It was subtle, but for him who knew her inside and out, it was obvious Sam being away was affecting her a lot more than she would let on. He'd seen her overwork herself, train harder and longer. She was obviously overcompensating for part of her life that was now missing.

Forcing a smile on her lips, she really wanted to hold him up to that and believe that what he said was true, but she wouldn't be convinced until Sam was standing right by her side, taking her in his warm and strong arms.

Then, in typical Jules' fashion, she changed the subject before her emotions could take over control. Her voice was still low and raw but her head was starting to clear, despite the migraine still comfortably settled. "You think the more I keep saying how I hate hospital, the more the world's gonna throw me in one of those beds?"

This time, Greg let out a heartfelt laugh to which she responded with a smirk. It was good to see she had a sense of humour. That despite the pain she was in, she was being herself. "Well, let's try not to make this a habit more than it already is," the team's Sergeant teased back just as the door opened, revealing a tall brunette woman in her late 40's dressed in a white coat. Greg's head shot up to look at the doctor walk in and Jules followed his gaze a little too quickly and groaned at the pain even this little motion caused.

The doctor smiled, meeting Jules' brown eyes. "It's good to see you awake, Officer Callaghan. I'm Doctor Laurier, I'm the one who proceeded to the surgery when you came in yesterday."

Jules seemed confused for a moment. "Surgery?" she echoed. She didn't know if it was due to that information, but she suddenly felt a little light-headed.

Doctor Laurier's lips pinched slightly as she offered the other woman a sorrowful smile. "We had to prevent further internal bleeding so we operated to seal the blood vessels since the liver doesn't scar well. We wanted to avoid haemorrhage." For a moment, she looked over at Greg and then back at Jules, edging a little closer to her bed. "We gave you a transfusion to prevent a drop in your blood pressure. Your body seemed to recover fairly quickly." A beat. "Unfortunately, that's not the only issue. You have three fractured ribs on your right side. You were lucky, they didn't damage internal organs but they caused extensive bruising. I'm also prescribing you antibiotics. Considering a blade pierced through your liver, you're risking a peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the thin layer of tissue that covers the inside of your abdomen," the doctor vulgarized. "If not treated it could be really serious, so we'd rather prevent it."

Jules was only half-listening at this point, her eyes closed as she tried to concentrate on breathing normally and pushing her nausea away. But it was too little too late. "I think I'm gonna be sick," she spoke in a low voice but the Doctor seemed to pick up on it because she quickly got in motion.

"Help me flip her," she instructed Greg and together, they gently brought her on her left side. Considering her broken ribs were on the right, this was the best they could do in her current state to avoid her chocking on her own stomach contents. Doctor Laurier just had time to bring the nearby trash bin up before Jules filled it.

If she had thought breathing through her injuries was painful, it was nothing compared to vomiting. The contraction of her diaphragm and abdominal walls on her rib cage was agonizing. But it wasn't like she could help it.

It didn't take long before there was only bile left to expulse, having not eaten since early the day before. But the gag reflex and the retching were still there, reminding her very vividly of every single bruise and broken ribs on her body.

The minute it took to calm her body down seemed like hours. When it appeared she was done, the doctor put the trash bin back on the ground and she and Greg gently helped her in her original laying position, motion to which she responded with a whimper, even though the discomfort was pale in comparison to what she had just felt.

"This can be due to either a concussion or infection spreading in your abdomen," the doctor explained, checking her IV to make sure it was still connected and dripping. "Or both," she added with an apologizing look. "Do you still feel nauseous?"

Jules could only shake her head ever so softly.

"Alright. I'll still get the nurse to bring you a small dose to fight against your nausea. I'd rather avoid you throwing up again. I need you to rest and ideally, avoid as many movements as possible." She marked a pause long enough to have Jules nod slightly. "I'll be monitoring your liver mostly to make sure it won't fail and won't keep bleeding out. We'll keep you in observation for 48 to 72 hours at least. You'll be released if everything is fine, as long as you have someone at home to take care of you." On that note, she looked over at Greg and he nodded slowly. He would personally make sure she had someone to take care of her, ready to take on the job himself if he had to.

But Jules' mind went somewhere else. She didn't have anyone. She couldn't possibly ask the team to relay each other and come home to take care of her, especially not when it also meant they were a man down because of her. Her brothers were living their lives all across Canada, with their respective jobs and families. Her father had to take care of the farm. She had no one, and that truth had never hit her as much as it did now. The last two times she'd been injured, Sam was there with her, supporting her through it all, regardless. But now he wasn't. And if she had missed him terribly for the past 5 months, now she wanted to scream at the injustice that he wasn't there with her, holding her hand, telling her he'd take care of her.

She fought the tears that threatened to fill her eyes, keeping them closed to make sure she wouldn't cry. She couldn't, not on top of everything else, not on top of feeling so damn vulnerable. She opened her eyes only when the doctor spoke again.

"Now you need to rest. Sleep as much as you can, it'll help your body heal faster. I'll come back to check on you every hour."

Jules nodded softly again, forcing a smile on her lips. Doctor Laurier returned the gesture towards her and then towards the Sergeant before leaving them alone.

Greg observed Jules for a moment, silent. There was pain in his eyes, pain to see her in such a state. She looked much smaller confined to a bed, bruised up and hurt, than she did in her uniform, confident in her abilities and strong with pride.

"You should get some rest too, Boss," Jules faintly pointed out. The little energy she had minutes before gone to the trash with her stomach contents. "I'll be fine."

"Jules-"

"I'll be sleeping anyway. You need rest. Comfortable rest." She wanted to add other arguments but she couldn't bring herself to speak any more words, tiredness taking over her body, shutting down her motor functions. Her eyes closed again involuntarily.

Before she could drift off to sleep, Greg leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, much like a father would while tucking his daughter to bed. "I'll be back later," he promised in a whisper before moving away from her and out of her room, leaving her on her own.

This time, a tear did escape Jules' eye and rolled down her cheek.


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: I want to sincerely apologize for my lack of updates in the past few months. There were important changes in my life, mostly good ones, but I've been a bit caught up in all of it._

 _While the whole point of this story was to eventually get to this particular chapter, I didn't realize how hard it would be to write it and stay true to the canons and make it good and not too cheesy. Hopefully, I portrayed the emotions properly, let me know what you think as there's another (and possibly final) chapter coming after this one that will be all Jam, and I also have a side one-shot Jam project that's almost done (look out for it soon!). So I could use the input ;)_

 _I want to apologize for all you medical-field folks out there as someone gently pointed out I had the peritonitis thing wrong, as it would happen if the intestines would be punctured and not the liver, meaning the blade would have had to take a descending trajectory. I wanted to update my latest chapter and take the whole peritonitis bit out but again, life got the best of me, so I'll unfortunately leave that error and assume my mistake fully. Sincere apology._

 _As always, reviews and follows are love!_

* * *

Sam always had a strong sense of duty, so he had felt awful to leave his team behind, especially knowing that their mission might be compromised. But the one thing that was stronger for Sam Braddock than his sense of duty was his love for Jules, and he couldn't ignore the raging feeling inside of him that he had to be with her, even though it was impossible for him to take back the suffering she had already endured.

But now that he was on his way to see her, his guilt towards his JTF2 team had considerably faded. Besides, he was well aware that they might either be replaced or that the mission might be cancelled after they realized Flynn had given terrorist organizations a lot more information than they first thought. He would never blame Jules for telling him the few details she knew, it definitely wasn't because of her that everything had gone to hell abroad. If anything, she had been strong enough not to give away anything else and thanks to Team One, they'd kept him from continuing his destructive path.

Yet, despite all of this, it hadn't been easy for him to convince his superiors to let him leave. In fact, even as he told them he quit, he had still been bound by contract and they wanted to force him to stay. For the first time in his life, he was happy to have his father pull some strings for him – a favour he had never expected to ever ask of him. But it had thankfully allowed him to break his contract and quit to go by Jules' side, despite them not being married.

Endless flights and layovers later, he was in a taxi on his way to the hospital. Even though Greg had mentioned that the man who had caused Jules so much pain had been caught, Sam couldn't help but to wish he had found him himself, give him a piece of his mind. It might not have been wise, however, or he might have actually beaten the guy to death. But he was still bitter to have been forced to leave her side at all, and he might have taken out his anger on the bastard.

Yes, they had broken the rules when he and Jules had decided to resume their relationship in secret, hiding it from the whole team. But Sam's argument to Greg when the Sergeant had first found out was still valid. Their performances hadn't slipped, they'd been professional and had in no way let their relationship and feelings for each other interfere in their duties with the team. Hell, Sam had to watch Jules bleed out on the lab floor while he took another lady out in his arms. Jules was the one he'd wanted to hold in his arms at that very moment. But it still hadn't been enough to convince the chief that their relationship wouldn't make them break the priority of life code. If he'd known it wouldn't change anything, he would have taken Jules out first instead, screw the rules, screw the code.

He knew it was irrational thinking right now, he wouldn't have failed the rules, but he still hated the whole situation.

The taxi pulled right at the front of the hospital and Sam paid him quickly, took his travel bags out and darted to the front doors. He was directed over to Jules' room – she'd been cleared out of the ICU – and made his way there, his legs moving him forward automatically as his mind was racing.

It has been such an adventure just to get here that now that he was closing in, he felt nervous. Knowing that he was so close and that within seconds he would be seeing her, touching her, feeling her caused a strong emotion in his chest, his heart starting to pound louder. He wasn't sure whether it was due to the excitement or due to fear, however. He feared to see her so badly hurt, he feared of her reaction when she'd see him. What if it was awkward? What if she'd rather him not be there?

If he thought his heart was pounding already, it was nothing compared to how fast it was racing when he reached her closed room door. He paused, looking at the room number by the door for a second. He was here. He was right next to her, finally. He vaguely registered a nurse pointing out that visitation time was over but he decided to completely ignore her as he opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was dark, the lights out as it was getting late and she'd probably been told to get some much-needed rest. But despite the low light only coming from the hospital corridor, there was no mistaken Jules' petite figure laying on the bed. Most of her body was covered by thin blankets, she was on her back, her eyes closed like she was asleep.

His eyes unwillingly moved to her chest. The up and down motion told him she was alive and breathing and that alone warmed his heart. Then he looked to her face. She seemed peaceful, just like she was when she was sleeping by his side. It was the moment during which her traits were the most delicate. While sleeping, she didn't have to play tough, she didn't need to put a facade, she just looked at peace.

Sam let his bags down right by the door, right in the middle of the way as his limbs couldn't properly function anymore at the sight of her. The nervousness he had just a minute ago left place to butterflies in his stomach, and strong love, the usual feelings he had around his sexy sniper chick. He'd played scenarios of their reunion many times in his mind while he was overseas and while none of them included an injured Jules and a hospital room, he didn't expect the strong emotions to wash over him like they did now. God he loved that woman. How they had been apart for so long and both kept it together to some extent was beyond him. But now, she was _right there._

His legs moved over to her side where a chair was vacated, a chair he figured had often been filled by Greg's presence. He sat down, his eyes never leaving Jules' beautiful features. Again, he ignored the nurse's whispered warning about the visiting hours at the door. Seeing as he wasn't responding, she gave up and turned on her heels.

He brought his hand up and ran a finger on her bruised cheek, hoping to wake her up tenderly. He knew she probably needed the rest but he wanted to see her pretty brown eyes, he wanted her to know he was there by her side, where he belonged. "Jules," he spoke in a low voice. His heart was pounding so hard he thought the sound of it might actually be enough to wake her up alone. He continued to gently brush her cheek with his fingers.

It took a few long seconds but eventually, she let out a tired groan and her eyelids fluttered. "Jules," Sam repeated, this time cupping her face with his hand.

Her eyes opened tentatively, blinking a few times as she got out of her sleeping state and into the conscious one. While it was dark in the room, Sam could see her deep brown eyes slowly staring at him and it took a second before the realization of who was by her bedside showed up in her eyes. Sam smiled so broadly he figured he might look like a fool. He wanted to take her in his arms, kiss her passionately and squeeze her so tight she could never get out of his grasp. But he didn't want to rush her, especially since she was hurt. He wanted to give her time to process.

Her low and slightly groggy voice filled the silence. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming 'cause I'll kick the sandman's ass for making it look so real."

Her hand reached out and Sam quickly grabbed it, interlacing their fingers. He ignored the bandages around her wrists for now, he wanted to concentrate on this moment they shared. He couldn't help but to chuckle lightly at her words and he shook his head softly, bringing her hand up so she touched his cheek and his light beard of the past few days. "You're not dreaming."

As if this was all she needed to be convinced, tears sprang in Jules' eyes and she tried to roll them back. This wasn't a time to cry, it was a time to rejoice. "Sam," she whispered as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. She slowly reached her other hand out and pulled him to her, her lips crashing onto his.

Sam had to hold himself a little awkwardly to keep his weight from crushing her body and hurting her. As soon as their lips touched, it felt like a jolt of electricity ran through his entire body. He realized just how much he had missed this and he couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten the feeling she brought to him. It wasn't just physical, it also felt like his mind was a little more at ease, that he was calm and perfectly relaxed despite just coming out of long flights. It was something he hadn't felt ever since he left her room the day he flew out to join the mission. And now that he had it back, he never wanted to give it away again.

Jules pulled out from the kiss after a moment and stared right into his eyes. "I missed you so much." Her voice was full of emotions and it seemed to mirror his.

"Not as much as I did," he answered back before planting a soft kiss on her lips again and then pulling out just so he could nestle his face against her neck. He took a long breath and took in her intoxicating scent. He'd missed all of this so much. His heartbeat was still pounding in his chest and from the proximity they now shared, he could feel hers beating fast too, almost in sync with his. She had that effect on him that he couldn't deny. He pulled away after a moment and gave her a first once over, or at least as much as he could see since her body was mostly covered. He noticed the cut on her cheekbone, the bruises around her jaw and the bandages around her wrists and on her head wound. He knew it was only pale in comparison to everything she had suffered through but she seemed relatively okay, and that was all that mattered. She was strong, she would pull through. It didn't change all the worry Sam had, however. "I'm so sorry about what happened, if it wasn't from me-"

He was cut off by Jules bringing a hand to his lips to shush him gently. She shook her head and pulled her finger off. "It is not your fault, Sam," she said automatically, as if she had been prepared for this reaction. She knew him well, after all. "I don't want you to blame yourself over this, you did not do this to me, and if it wasn't me, it would have been someone else."

He could definitely recognize his girlfriend in those words alone. While he hated that this happened to her, it was obvious that she was glad she had to go through this rather than another woman, another soldier's girlfriend or wife. And part of him found himself thinking that if it was anyone else, they might have caved in and given information on the mission that might have been crucial. Jules knew that, and for Sam's sake, that was why she was glad to have been the one holding the information back. So he nodded in response, mostly because he didn't want to argue with her right now because part of him couldn't help but to think that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place.

Again, her voice broke the silence. "If me getting injured was what you needed to come back, you should have said so sooner," she teased, but Sam didn't think it was funny at all. He nailed her with a look, which caused her to laugh lightly and then wince as the motion hurt her ribs and her stomach wound. "Seriously, I'll be fine, Sam," she continued as she reached out to touch his face again. "I'm just glad you're here."

"Yeah, well I should have came back sooner," Sam quickly responded as he took a long breath and slowly let it out. Her touch on his cheek was all that he really needed at the moment. He loved every inch of her, everything she did. Her delicate touch always had the effect of soothing him and right now it was no different. _He_ should be the one soothing her, however, she was the one to have suffered more than anyone ever should and here he was, being selfish and taking the comfort she was giving him. He then leaned in to give her lips another soft kiss. He could spend all night just kissing her and looking at her perfect features. He could never get enough of this woman and after being away from each other for so long, it was like he needed to catch up on everything he had missed. He pulled away after a moment and settled back in his chair, keeping her hand in his, the other reaching out to brush her hair softly. "But I'm glad I'm here now," he admitted with a gentle smile.

Jules nodded for a moment but then her expression changed a little, her traits became a little more drawn and her eyes left his, looking down slightly. "For how long?" she asked in a soft voice, so much that Sam had a hard time hearing it and had to take a few seconds to realize what she had said. Not understanding exactly what she meant, he frowned a little and her gaze came back to his, their eyes meeting again. "How long are you here for? When do you have to go back?" she continued and it was obvious she was in pain just having to speak the words. He hated that they were just reuniting and she was already beating herself over the fact that they might be separated again. But thankfully, he had good news for her.

"I'm not going back, Jules," he said, the hand that had been stroking her hair moving to cup her chin, his thumb running over her cheek. "I can't and I won't leave you again." He pulled his hand back and held a finger up because he knew she was about to argue. "And before you accuse me of doing this to protect you from something like this happening again and tell me you don't need my protection, let me just say that I'm staying because _I_ need you. I can't be away from you ever again."

"Sam, I was just going to say that it makes me extremely happy," she said, a grin slowly starting to show on her brightening face. Tears started to form in her eyes again, unable to hold them back and hide her happiness over the idea of him staying. "Because," she started, but the emotions seemed to be caught in her throat. She took a breath for a second before she continued, her voice cracking slightly. "Because I can't be away from you either, and I won't let you leave again." She forced a smile through her reddened eyes and it was enough to make Sam's heart clench in love, and in pain to see her like this.

He brought both of his hands to cup her face, gently forcing her to look right at him, his deep blue eyes piercing her gaze. "I'm not going anywhere." He leaned in and kissed her again and then rested his forehead against hers, unwilling to break their connection. Jules slowly brought her hands over his, holding him tight as if afraid to let go. Her eyes were closed and a tear escaped them, rolling down the side of her face again. They stayed in this position for a moment, none of them wanting to break the moment but eventually, Jules did, only to give them a chance to share another.

"Come lay with me."

Sam pulled his face away from hers but kept his hands on her cheeks. He shot her a look and he was about to say that he was afraid of hurting her if he did but the look she gave him and his inner desire to be close to her told her it was exactly what they both needed right now. He gently nodded and let go of her face as he stood slowly.

Meanwhile, Jules pushed herself to scoot over and clenched her jaw but couldn't help the slight grunt that escaped her throat as this was obviously putting her through pain.

"Jules," Sam urged in a soft voice as he looked at her and moved forward as if to help. He knew he shouldn't have agreed, the last thing he wanted was to put her through any more pain. She had suffered enough as it was, he didn't want to be the cause of any more discomfort she felt, no matter how small.

"I'm fine," she said in her usual fashion and once she had given Sam a little more space to lie down, she relaxed, closed her eyes and let out a long breath of air.

Sam shook his head slightly at how stubborn she was but didn't comment on it. He slowly moved over to the bed and carefully sat down at first, all the time glancing towards the woman he loved to make sure the bed's movement wasn't causing her any more pain. Satisfied, he brought his legs on the bed and lowered himself until he was laying right next to her. Jules eyes opened and she looked at him, smiling genuinely, but faintly. It was obvious she was tired. Sam slowly shifted to his side so there were even closer and so could look at her. He brought his hand to her face and gently brushed his fingers on her cheek again, his eyes staring lovingly at hers. "You should sleep, I'm not going anywhere." His voice was barely above a whisper, but due to their proximity, she had definitely heard him.

She hesitated for a moment and Sam knew she wanted to stay awake to spend some time with him, but he would still be there when she woke, so there was no reason for her to fight it. Eventually, she nodded and her eyes closed tiredly. She soon went back to that peaceful state she was in when he first entered the room and Sam couldn't help but to smile, loving the idea that his presence alone helped making her feel like this. He just hoped that while she slept, she was free from all the pain. He continued watching her for a while, it could have been hours, he didn't even know because time flew by so fast whenever he laid next to her, until eventually, he too fell asleep and, despite the awkward position he was in and the tight space, he slept better than he had in 5 months.


End file.
